


Moonlight Demons

by Galaxy_Storm_Nebula



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist, Fairy Tail
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26243377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galaxy_Storm_Nebula/pseuds/Galaxy_Storm_Nebula
Summary: Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were walking home from a failed mission when all of a sudden a bright light descended into the forest, and a half demon child descended to their world beaten and abused. Now, Natsu is in charge of the task of helping this child evolve and grow, and protect her from the challenges ahead. Will Fairy Tail be able to help her move forward from her past, or will the child be forever be tormented from the past.
Relationships: Lucy/Amaimon, OC/Natsu
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

.I do not, or ever will own Fairy Tail, Blue Exorcist, or any other Anime, Book, or any other creation by artists. They belong to their originators. This story and any OC, however, is based on my crazy imagination, except some canon. This is true for this and all future chapters, that way I don't have to repeat this blurp. It is annoying as well as it is basic common sense.

Tsukiko: Normal Talking  
'Tsukiko: Thinking'  
(Tsukiko): 4th wall breaking  
Tsukiko: Spell/Demon Mode/Pissed off mode

It was a beautiful summer day along the forest path heading away from Shirotsume Town, the gentle, soothing breeze was wafting the fresh pine scent from the forest towards three companions walking along that very same path. They were heading home from a mission that they, while inadvertently, failed due to unavoidable circumstances, and one of them was definitely not happy about it. Mostly because they could not collect the reward money, and the female member was having a fit having to walk home. The other two, a male teen and a blue cat, had no issues walking (in the cat's case, flying) home, but they were beginning to get annoyed by the female nagging.

"Dammit, Natsu! If you had destroyed the book when you first put your grubby hands on it, we wouldn't have been in this mess!"

Ah, there she is. Lucy Heartphilia, the spoiled princess. Lucy was a busty teen wearing a white outfit of a tight-fitting tank top with blue lining around the seams and a zipper in the front, which was trying really hard to keep her size F bust in the shirt. She also was wearing a short blue skirt hugging her waist, and on one side of her waist was a heart-tipped whip, and on the other belt was a set of both silver and golden keys. It had irked her that the mission was a total bust, and now that they couldn't receive the money for her rent, even though it is affordable living where she is currently.

"What!?" Yelled the other teen now identified as Natsu, who looked like he was wearing some Agraba style outfit from Aladdin(RIP Robin Williams)(1) with a black vest that is lined with white and white knee-length baggy pants and of course black sandals. He was wearing a dragon-scale scarf that was colored white, which, in my opinion, was entirely looking out of place. It looked ghetto kinda...

(Hey! Don't you dare make fun of my scarf!) Natsu yelled, suddenly appearing right in front of me with a tick mark.

I am not making fun of the scarf, Wyrmling! I am merely stating that wearing a scarf in the summertime and in summer-like outfits is an awful style!

(What's wrong with my outfit? It looks a hell of a lot better than yours! Why do you have to wear pj's as a normal outfit during the day!?)

One: I was aiming for comfort, do you know how hard it is to find comfortable clothes for a plus-sized girl like me? And two: I was writing this story during the time I was jobless while taking a break job searching in 2013. (3) Either way, I am trying to figure out what is bothering me now, the fact is that I am arguing with a character or that a guy like you is worried about style?

(What is that supposed to mean!?)

I'll keep my thoughts to myself, for now, Wyrmling.

(Wyrm-what?)

Figure it out.

(Tch.)

Anyways, Natsu, can you stop breaking the fourth wall and get back to the story?

(Fine, but we aren't finished yet.)

You'll forget it anyways with that brain of yours.

(What!?)

Nothing.

*snicker*

(Shut up, Lucy!) 

Come to think of it, I shouldn't have told him that the scarf was stupid, it was a gift from his father after all...

He was still grumbling about the conversation he had with me but decided to let it go for the time being and returned to his anime world. Facing the insinuating blonde, he head-butted the female for the insult. "I was planning to burn that book at that moment, but then YOU butted in grabbing the book and said, 'Let me read it first'! If it's anyone to blame, it's you!"

Lucy pushed her head forward, refusing to back down. "But you denied their money! How am I going to pay rent!?"

Natsu returns the pressure. "We failed the mission, and we did not want to ruin Fairy Tail that way! Besides, you were able to kick that Oompa Loompa's(2) ass, right?"

At that moment, the female relinquished her pressure and stood up with a huff, causing Natsu to lose his balance, arms flapping in the air, trying to bring his position upright. He failed miserably, even though that loud thud and groan coming from the ground had anything else to say in the matter.

"That definitely wasn't enough! I mean c'mon a beautiful girl like ME with a striking figure and he calls me 'ugly'? He doesn't know ANYTHING about sexual appeal! Comparing me to his so-called beautiful maids is a direct insult to true beauties everywhere!" She held a tight fist, which was now sporting a tick mark, up and ground her teeth in frustration. "I wish I could have done more than just give him a haircut. I still think that I should have saturated his toothbrush with toilet water or cover his underwear full of Vulcan Repellant Pepper Spray! He'll feel the burn after that!"

Natsu was looking at her, with his eyes twitching. Man, that sounds weak prank, and petty.

"Lucy, that sounds like a lot of fun. Can I add something else to the petty list?" Happy said while landing in the blonde's arms and looking at her with those cat eyes.

The Celestial Mage looked at Happy with curiosity. "Oh yeah, what else do you have in mind, Happy?"

"I would have added a flying fish to their laundry, they smell horrible, and the scent would last for weeks."

Lucy thought about what the feline had said and giggled evilly with a mischievous glint in her eyes. That is really petty, and that also sounds perfect. Oh, if only I had that fish at that time, it would have been worse than the sewer we were in!

"Are you kidding?" Muffled Natsu, who was still on the ground. Spitting up dirt that the teen unintentionally ate, he continued. "I would set his ass on fire! But I already did that with the Wolf Pups." He then got up and dusted himself off. "C'mon guys, we got some ways to go before nightfall."

"Aye!" Happy said and got out of Lucy's arms and flew ahead. Lucy was obliviously mumbling to herself about getting more revenge when she realized that the other two were almost out of view, causing her to sweatdrop and run at them at top speed.

"W-Wait! Wait for meeeee~!"

(Two Hours Later)  
"Natsu, how long will it take us to Fairy Tail?" Lucy said tiredly, dragging her feet and her body hunched over, which makes me wonder how she can keep her body upright from her enormous bust.

"It will take two days to get back home on foot if we don't keep stopping to complain," Natsu said grumpily, while Happy was on his head relaxing. "We have to pass through a swamp, and it will be a little tough, I can smell it rained recently."

"You mean we have to walk through a marsh?" Lucy groaned. "We will sink, can't we go around it?"

"I don't know what you are complaining about Lucy, you will not be able to sink because of the two balloons on your chest." Happy said with a giggle. "Those things are nice and bouncy and comfortable. They only get in the way when I try to carry you when flying, they make you heavy."

"I'm not that heavy!" Lucy yelled teeth sharpened, and angry eyed while chasing the cat, which conveniently started flying before the blond was able to reach him with her mysteriously clawed hand. Natsu was actually used to this and ducked when she swiped. "Get back here!"

"Sorry, Lucy, but you are just too slow to catch me! All because of the two boulders on your chest!" Happy laughed loudly, flying around in circles around the area, oblivious (or acting oblivious) to the stab he has caused the Celestial Wizard, with two stakes piercing each boob with the word boulders. The next thing everyone knew, there was a scream, and even Natsu thought she had breathed fire from palpable rage.

"SHUT UP YOU SHITTY CAT!" the female teen who felt the blow to her feminine pride went full 'Demon Mode.' While during her rampage trying to get the Tomcat, she happened to find a good-sized jagged rock and aimed true at the blue feline, causing Happy to go owl-eyed and yelp at the size of the stone. Happy, though still in shock from the hit, was able to regain his flight seconds before he hit the ground, holding his head, which now sported a nice red bump.

"Waaaah, Natsu! Lucy is mean to me!"

"C' mon Lucy, you know he was playing." The pinkette told Lucy,   
who glared at him now as a potential target, and that made him shiver and back away a little.

"What do you mean playing?" The Celestial Wizard growled. "You would be angry too if he insulted you like that!"

"Yeah, but he's my buddy, so we jab each other all the time," Natsu replied with a shrug.

Lucy deadpanned. "Yet you and Gray jab at each other, and you fight."

"That's because it gets on his nerves, and I like his reaction when I piss him off," Natsu said while continuing to walk along the path.

"It makes me wonder if you two have a thing for each other…" Lucy mumbled, giving a coy look to the Dragon Slayer, and apparently, it was loud enough for Natsu to hear. Tripping over his feet at the edge of a cliff with a startled yelp while Lucy and Happy were looking down the same cliff he's currently falling on, flinching every time he hits the edge with an 'oof' and an 'ugh.' They eventually cringed when they saw him land hard scorpion style, earning him a perfect score of 10 in the pain factor.

"That's gotta hurt," Lucy said with a surprised look, not thinking that her comment would have caused such an effect, not to mention be heard. (She forgot about the sensitive hearing a Dragon Slayer has.)

"Aye." Happy was on the ground this time looking over the cliff, slightly put off that Lucy was able to give a better jab reaction instead of him. I need to up my troll game.

A few seconds later, a pillar of red and yellow flames them shot up like an eruption from a highly active volcano, giving off intense heat and pressure waves blowing Lucy's skirt up, showing her undies (is that heart-shaped lingerie?). Then there was a scream, and while the Celestial Wizard and Happy looked up, they saw Natsu shooting the flames from his feet, cut them off, and landed sumo-style in front of the female. He looked…how can I describe it…disturbed and freaked out?

"With that poor excuse of an icicle? Hell No!" Yelled the Flame Mage, not realizing what he said, set him up for something else.

Lucy sweatdropped, "Soooo…you're saying you are gay, but not with Gray?"

Natsu was making noises while his eyebrows were twitching wildly. He didn't know what to say and decided not to(surprisingly) because he was afraid of what will happen the next time he opens his mouth.

(One Hour Before Sunset)  
The sun was almost setting in the area, and a cool breeze began to pick up, indicating that it will be a chilly night, and with the humidity that is oppressing around them also indicated more rain was on the way. 

"Alright, guys, let's build a campfire. It's getting late." Natsu said while summoning flames in his right hand as the sun had finally set, with the pinkish-orange sky gave way to purple, blue, and black.

"Aye, I will get some tasty fish!" Said Happy, flying out towards the nearest creek.

"And I'll get the firewood," Lucy said next and started walking around the area looking for burnable sticks.

Natsu meanwhile was looking for a perfect place to set the camp, and when he did, he punched the ground hard enough to form a minor crater for the fire pit. Once he was satisfied with the location, he then looked for sturdy thick fallen tree trunks and placed them around the hole so they can sit and eat comfortably. Then started to build a natural tent to protect themselves from the oncoming rain.

"Hey, Natsu?" Lucy walked up to the newly built campsite with the twigs looking at her partner curiously.

"Yeah?"

"Back at the mansion, the Melons …how did you know that they did not live there?"

"Huh? Oh, that was easy." Natsu replied, winking and thumbing at his nose. "They smelled more earthen while the entire house smelled like polish."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "Eh?"

"They smelled more like farmers than rich people," Natsu said, laughing. Then, they took a step back to check on the tent and make adjustments here and there.

The female went owl-eyed at the information, with a few strands of hair going out of place. So, Natsu knew that even if they had completed the mission, they wouldn't have been able to get the money, it wouldn't feel right.

"Natsu, I got some Sockeye!"

"That's great, little buddy!" Natsu replied, using his secret technique to de-scale the fish with his superheated hand, and then skewered the three with sticks mouth first. And once they were prepared, he lit the campfire the usual way. "Karyuu no kusuburu hi!" He breathed a light flame and ignited the sticks (In this world, the usual way for mages is the magic way) and placed the three salmon against the fire to start cooking.

"That reminds me…" Natsu said suddenly, causing the blond to tilt her head curiously. "Why were you so hell-bent on reading that book anyway? Other than the book having secrets?"

That was when Lucy went starry-eyed and squealed. "That is because the author was an inspiration to readers! Not only did he bring our imagination to life with his colorful words, but it also inspired me to become the next author."

Just then, Natsu gave a sly smile with his eyes half-closed in possible payback. "I see what's going on." He said lowly and smoothly, giving Lucy and Happy their fully cooked fish.

"What do you mean, Natsu?" Lucy questioned, blowing on it and lightly taking a bite. What Natsu said next made her turn a shade of strawberry.

"Those papers that were on your desk?" Natsu said, pausing to take a bite of his own and enjoying the flustered look at his friend's face. "The one you prevented me from reading by kicking me in the face?"

"Y-yeah?" She said slowly, remembering that she did just that, and when the blond realized that Lucy was in a towel when kicking Natsu, she started to go another shade darker.

Natsu then smiled wickedly. "You're writing a novel, aren't ya?"  
Lucy put her hand on her steaming face, which now looked so red that she looked like a tomato. "P-please don't tell anyone."

"Why?"

That was when she covered her face with both of her hands and shook her head violently. "I am still new at writing, and the thought of anyone reading my stories embarrasses me so much that I could die!"

Natsu sweatdropped at her reaction and promised not to tell anyone. However, if you could see the Chibi Self of a person, you would see Natsu's Chibi grinning and cackling evilly, saying that revenge would be sweet.

During that time, the sun has finally set, and the trio was finishing up their meals and getting ready to hit the hay. However, they won't be going to be sleeping at all.

The moment the Natsu put his head down on his sleeping bag outside, he jolted upright, causing the other two members of the team to stop in the middle of bed making in the tent. They noticed that his eyes were wide and shaking as he sensed something familiar, yet it was completely different. After a while, Lucy decided to get his attention. "What's wrong, Natsu?"

Natsu started from his zoning and turned to Lucy with a light sweat on his cheek. "I-I don't know, I sense something coming, yet I can't pinpoint where." Natsu looked down in thought. Why does it feel so familiar, and why does it feel sad?

"Ayudame..."

What was that? Natsu, all of a sudden, went quiet at the voice he just heard. What came with it an aura shot down from the sky and hit deep within the nearby forest, causing a shockwave forcing the trio down into the ground with Happy being hugged tightly within the blond's bosom and Natsu pinning her to the ground when they suddenly flew out of the tent. Once the blast was over, and the debris disappeared, they chanced a look, and they saw a crater where the light had made contact.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" They all screamed, owl-eyed, and covered in splinters.

What the hell? Who was that? That impact is giving off some weird magic. Natsu then got up and turned to Happy and Lucy. "Happy, Lucy, do you hear that?"

Happy and Lucy looked at Natsu with a confused look. "You mean that explosion?" Lucy asked incredulously. "Of course, we heard it!"

"I mean that voice before the explosion."

This time both happy and Lucy looked at each other with a bemused look. "No, I did not hear any voice," Lucy responded.

"Aye, I didn't hear anything either."

"What," the pink-haired Mage said in surprise, "are you sure?" He asked again, but the duo nodded in confirmation that they heard nothing.

Natsu raised an eyebrow, about to say something, but he heard the cry again, and it sounded a little weaker. "I'm going to check it out, you guys stay here then, I'll be back."

"Wait, you don't want us to go with you?" The Celestial Mage asked, picking herself up from the ground and dusting off the debris.

"Are you sure, Natsu?" Asked Happy.

"Yeah, I hear somebody calling, and the magic surrounding it smells unstable. I want you guys to stay here." He said again.

"Aye, be careful, Natsu..." Happy replied cautiously.

As Natsu walked into the forest, Lucy asked the blue Tomcat with a questioning look, "Happy, what did you mean 'be careful?' Aren't you gonna follow him as usual?"

Happy was staring into the leftover fire when he slowly responded, "No, and it's because Natsu seems on edge. I don't know what he sensed. Hearing somebody cry for help and saying the magic in the air is unstable, I wonder what it could be?"

The response made Lucy shudder, and the way Happy mentioned that Natsu was worried scared her, as the Flame Mage is so carefree. Lucy was also confused because she did not sense the magic, but the Tomcat didn't it either. "Do you think we should follow him?" The blond said in concern.

Happy shook his head, "Natsu told us to stay here. His senses are as strong as a dragon, and he said that the magic is giving off an unstable vibe, might be something unpredictable, and might harm us."

"Then why is Natsu following it!?" shouted Lucy, few pieces of hair poking out at odd angles. "He could seriously get hurt!"

This made Happy ponder, "I don't know, but I think it's because only he can sense it, and we can't. In that case, he does not want to worry about us as well if things go bad."

Lucy looked at the cat questioningly then nodded but looked back at the forest. I hope Natsu will be alright…

(Inside the East Forest…)  
Natsu was on full alert mode, sniffing the air in every direction; the magic aura was so distorted that he was having a hard time deciphering it, even with a dragon's nose. Who is this person, and why is it afraid? He then sniffed to the right of him and gained a confirming expression. The scent is stronger there, but it's still some ways away.

Little did the Dragon Slayer know he was being followed. From the ground several feet away, a head popped out, showing a kid with dark skin, lazy looking eyes, and green hair pointing out on top of his head.

"Hmmm, it looks like somebody can finally hear my sobrina. Let's hope the brat can pass the two trials you had set up Hermano." After that, he inserted a lollipop in his mouth got absorbed back into the terrain.

(Deeper into the East Forest…)  
A girl with silvery-blue hair was on the ground gasping for breath due to the damage from previous injuries and the impact by hitting the ground hard. When she opened her pale-blue eyes, she saw that she had landed in the middle of the forest. It was a mess, apparently due to her fear, she inadvertently distorted a half-mile radius by teleporting (with the help of a particular space-time demon). That clown devil sent her to another world where hopefully she will be free from her painful and torturous past.

Yes, this child was not from Earthland but another world. She came from a place where they held people with unique abilities prisoner due to fear and jealousy. Beating, burning, slicing, biting, and even psychological torture was inflicted upon them. There were still child laws on the slaves, though, offering them protection to those under 18, stating that you cannot physically abuse them in any way. Those who break them will no longer have the right to own a slave but must pay a hefty fine.

The girl cringed in pain as she curled into a ball, and her eyes became cloudy and full of sadness. That did not stop my master, she thought. My master was manipulative, and he always gets his way.

She was about to relive that nightmare when she heard a tree branch snap from within the foresty darkness. She slightly perked her ears in warning to determine who it was when all of a sudden, the girl started to hear what could listen to a voice.

What's that? She thought. And why do I hear sniffing? She was confused at the noise, but then her eyes widened. No, is he looking for me!? Did that monster follow me!? The moon-haired girl started shaking in fear. Then she screamed something, and the surrounding area began to radiate.

(At the same location)  
"What the hell happened here?!" Natsu wondered aloud cat-eyed when he came into a clearing and saw a crater in the middle of it. He took a look at the surroundings and noticed the area looked demolished. 

The pink-haired Dragon Slayer stopped for a second and sniffed the air a couple more times. "This is where the scent is strongest."

"Helloooo? I anyone here?" He called out. As he got a few feet closer to the crater, he thought he heard somebody scream.

"Irse!"

What was that? "Whoah!" Then, out of nowhere, a barrier formed in a blinding light surrounding the crater, forcing to jump back in surprise. It looked like a sphere with different colors of purple swirled thickly inside it. It's so thick, I can't see through it or smell what it is inside it. Natsu thought just before he noticed the magic circle on the barrier. Huh?

Inside a circle was a multi-pointed white star surrounded by two sky-blue wings attached to a soul-drop, making it look like it was about to take flight. The first ring surrounding the circle was white vines moving counter-clockwise, and the next ring had Gaelic runes going the other way around.

Natsu stared at it in confusion, Ok I have seen this spell before, but from where? What branch of magic?' Stepping closer to the barrier, he just remembered something else, 'Igneel, what was I supposed to do if I saw one of these?'

As he was about to touch the barrier, another magic circle appeared behind Natsu, putting him in a defensive position. This time the spellcasting circle was black with Enochian Runes around it with only one word he recognizes in the center: Hell. A summoning circle. Black flames started coming out of the casted spell followed a pair of grey-like horns curving downward like a ram. Then the rest of the body appeared. It looked like a large black dog with grey bone-like markings around his ribs and appendages. What stood out more is the skull-like mark in the middle of his collar and a long tail with the tip as an arrow. (If you already guessed, yes this is Houndoom). He stared at Natsu with crimson-red eyes, growling. When it roared, black and red flames started surrounding its body.

Natsu stared at the hellhound with shock and excitement. "Oh, WOW! A dog that can make flames! I wonder what it tastes like?" the sakura-haired boy exclaimed, causing the creature to sweat-drop. Even more so because the Mage was not fazed by his growl.

Regaining its composure, the creature growled, "My name is Hellgar. I was called here to protect this child from those who wish to harm her. Since I was summoned, and I only see you, therefore, I must deem you as a threat!" Then the obsidian demon-dog roared, and more flames shot out of it.

"Harmed? Wait, I came here because I heard somebody call for help. I am not going to hurt anybody!" Natsu was waving his hands comically, sweat-dripping at the same time. He then pointed towards the demon, "Waitaminnit, how do I know you are not the one hurting her?!"

At this, the black beast growled, "I was summoned by her! How dare you think that I would hurt such a child! Fuego Infernal!" It then shot a black flamethrower towards Natsu, causing the surrounding area to explore. The earth rumbled from the aftershock as the hellhounds jaw was steaming from the heat. Licking its maw, it was about to turn away when he heard the flames change and a sound like inhaling coming from the center of the bonfire. And what the obsidian demon saw made his eyes huge and jaw drop.

The flames were being pulled inward, and all of a sudden, Natsu came into view, apparently swallowing the flames. "Phua, that was quite a meal! Surprisingly hot too! Thanks!"

"H-how, were you able to eat my hellfire!? Just by touching it would burn you to ashes!"

Natsu just laughed, "My magic allows me to eat fire and fight with fire. I am a Fire Dragon Slayer!" He then set himself ablaze and inhaling once more aimed towards the hellhound. "Karyuu no Houkou!" Flames then shot out of the dragon slayer's mouth and hit the demon-dog, creating a much more powerful blast than the hound. Laughing maniacally and about to say he won, Natsu also gained the expression the hellhound had when the flames started to absorb into the hound's body.

"Wh-what? N-no way." The pink-haired dragon slayer whispered, being dumbfounded. Now his flames were being absorbed into the black hellhound's body, causing him to glow.

The creature smiled evilly, "Well, it looks like we both are evenly matched with the flames. I would never have thought there would be someone who would be able to devour my flames." He then chuckled. "This is going to be fun. I have not had a challenge in quite some time!"

Then his body started to glow, his horns became more massive and pointed upwards, the skull on his throat became a spiky bone collar and the spines pointing forward. He also had three spine-like rings at the base of his tail. Now the hellhound gained more of a menacing presence and looked bulkier.

Natsu looked even more surprised about Hellgar's new transformation. "That. Is. So. Coooool! It's like my flames caused him to transform! Man, I wish I can do that!" The sakura-haired wizard frustratingly stated. Then he looked excited again. "Time to go all out then, huh?" He lit himself on fire.

This boy, he flips his emotions a little too quickly to my liking, the fire hound thought with a sweatdrop. But I like the challenge of unpredictable prey. "Before we continue, mind me telling your name?"

"Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail."

"Hmm, Dragneel, I have heard of that surname before, as well as Dragon Slayer, an ancient and lost art. But Fairy Tail is unknown to me. My name, as I said earlier, is Hellgar, one who guards the Hell's Gate with Cerberus and Bringer of Death." Hellgar proudly stated, holding his head high. Once the introduction was over, he then resumed the battle position. "Now that we are well acquainted, let us fight. If I win, you will leave my princess in peace, and if you win, I will have no choice but to step aside and face the barrier. Let me ask you this, how are we gonna fight knowing neither of our magic will work on each other." The Obsidian hellhound bared his fangs in a taunting manner.

The Dragon Slayer himself got into fighting position looking wilder than ever. "I agree with you on that Hellgar, looks like we will fight with our fists and fangs!"

The hellhound simply responded, "Agreed, but let's fight to our fullest!"

"Alright, I'm all fired up now!"

(Inside the dome)  
It took some time for the child to calm down enough to realize that the person she heard was not the hunters her former master hired to find her, but instead a boy with pink hair. He looks funny with that color, but that is not what is surprising her. No, it was the fact he can toe-to-toe with her Guardian Hound, and she was getting excited. But she needs a better view, but she needed to heal herself a bit to be able to move at least. Once it was activated, she began to shift up, slowly crawling towards a proper resting place nearby. Once the Tsukiko got to her destination, she turned and gently leaned on a protruding rock. At first, she hissed in pain with some of the bumps adding pressure to her wounds, but eventually, after the rocky acupressure from the stone ebbed some pain away. After the pain became tolerable, she decided to focus on the battle through the amethyst barrier, watching it with some amusement in these sky-blue girls' eyes. Even though she was still in pain, she could not help but watch in excitement, and thinking 'Hellgar, you are going all out, aren't you? You have finally found someone who is a challenge.' She thought. Though she does not know how this teen found him, she could not help but like him somehow. It is like his aura does nothing but bring happiness. Hopefully, the Mage will be able to pass the tests Mephisto set up.

"Well, my dear. Looks like you are enjoying this battle, aren't you?" Out of nowhere, the demon appeared next to the girl from a cloud of pink smoke. 'Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear.' She thought with a deadpan expression. He was sitting on a floating pink wing-chair, but that is not the crazy part. This clown of a demon is wearing a white suit and a white hat, adorned with a pink polka-dot scarf. He also had a pink umbrella spinning in one of his arms and sipping tea in his other hand. "What do you think about him? It seems like he was the first one who heard you when you crashed into this world."

You're the one who caused me to crash you sadistic so-called father!' She thought furiously with a tick mark on her forehead cat ears popping out of her head. Coughing a little to regain her composure, she smiled at the Demon of Time. "His heart seems to be in the right place, and apparently, he loves to fight." The blue-moon haired girl chuckled. "Though I am curious about how he can hear a demon like me. Maybe he has been affected by a temptaint? I don't see him having any signs of being a demon? What do you think about him, Papa?"

At this, Mephisto looked at the sakura-haired boy he was taking into consideration with lidded eyes and hummed, "It depends on how well he takes care of you and how you grow. And most importantly, if he can help you heal from your past." He looked at his daughter from the corner of his eye and saw her look down and tremble. The girl is still traumatized, her eyes shaking and becoming foggy. Her father saw the pain and growled in his throat. He then continued. "It pains me to know that my own daughter had to go through that ordeal. If I had known that your mother was murdered and left you with that monster of a human, he got what he deserved. I made sure of that." The space-time demon king said with a hint of disgust in his voice. She replied with a soft, yeah. "I also want to protect you from your other uncles since they don't know you exist, except Tío Amaimon, and I also want you here in this world because since you have no demonic powers and your healing is dreadful. It is now just starting to heal you after being injured for more than an hour, if only just. Maybe it can be developed with the help of this boy. He has the charisma, though I do think he might be a little young I think he can teach you right."

At this, the girl chuckled again, still wincing from the pain. "W-Well, he has to pass your tests first, Papa." She said in a teasing manner. They both continued to watch the fight. It was starting to get exciting. Just then, another demon slowly came out of the ground behind the girl, startling her further and yelped.

"Amaimon, welcome to our little get-together. Wanna watch the fight too? Did you finish your previous job with the abomination?"

The earth demon quickly nodded his head. "Let's just say I went a little overboard on the seismic magnitude, and now I'm just checking out to see if my sobrina is ok." He looked at the girl and frowned, he too was not pleased. "Hermano, why can't we just help her heal?"

The time demon smiled at his brother's apparent accidental destruction while shaking his head, voice now solemn and sad. "No, we cannot. I want her powers to develop as much as it can if she has them. And besides, the party is just getting started!" Yelled Mephisto joyously, arms spread wide. Now all three are watching the battle.

(Outside the Dome)  
Natsu, the flame mage, and Hellgar, the hellhound was standing off facing each other, thinking of new ways to win the battle since apparently fire will not work on either of them. The cherry-blossom Mage glared with his onyx colored eyes slightly shining, cracking his knuckles and chuckling to himself in excitement. In contrast, the ebony hellhound glared back with his blood-red eyes, whipping his two-pronged tail vigorously and growling in a most intimidating manner. Both are still waiting to make the first move.

"This fight will be interesting!" Hellgar said in excitement, lightly shifting to a much more limber stance.

"Sure is, I'm all fired up!" Natsu agreed. Also shifting into a much more battle-ready stance.

The two flame-wielders stood facing each other some more until they lightning crash in the distance, then the pink-haired Mage acted first.

Natsu roared, running towards the blazing hellhound, raising his fist high, attempting to make a hit. But Hellgar simply dodged by using his speed and agility getting behind the Mage. Then, before the teen could react, head-butted him at the base of his spine, causing the pink-haired Mage to yelp sending him flying to a nearby rock, creating a small crater from the impact.

'Hmm, it looks like speed will be a crucial factor.' Hellgar thought while the Dragon Slayer slowly got up from the impact. He was moaning from the brute shockwave.

"Shit, that hurt..." Natsu was standing shakily while he put his hand on his lower back. "Damn, Hellgar, that bonehead of yours pack quite a punch." He then started stretching out to disperse the pain.

The demon-dog chuckled, "That is the one insult I will greatly accept." He then lowered his head and charged at the Dragon Slayer, ramming headfirst to the gut. Baring his fangs in excitement and thinking, he got a hit again but then looked in shock when he realized he couldn't move. At the last second, the flame mage managed to grab hold of his horns! Now it was his turn, Natsu sent an upper-cut to the hellhound sending him flying then jumped right next to him and gave another blow in the middle of the spine, sending him to the ground, causing a crater within the crater. Then the ebony hellhound jumped out of the hole, landed on his feet, and lunged at the still airborne Mage and chomped on his forearm, causing him to scream. Natsu quickly regained his composure and bashed the hellhound on the head, causing him to grunt and let go. Still falling, Hellgar grabbed the teen's leg with his two-pronged tail and slammed him on the ground before landing on him again, causing a double impact.

Then, the rain started falling to the ground.

(Meanwhile, outside the forest)  
The Celestial Spirit Mage was pacing back and forth between the fire and the line of trees. She was starting to get worried, it has been over an hour since Natsu left to find whoever or whatever he heard. 'Where is that idiot!? Has he found it? Why hasn't he come back yet?'

Then, the blue cat who was sitting next to the fire snickered, a paw covering his mouth. "Fufufu...Lucy, if you keep pacing like that, you going to walk into your feet-made grave."

"I don't need your smart-ass comments!" The busty blonde yelled. "And why aren't you worried about Natsu!?"

The Tomcat had his head down, ears pulled back. "I'm sorry, Lucy, I am worried too. It's just playing tricks that make me feel a little better." His tail was twitching, "But the way Natsu told us not to follow him, I felt like he meant it. We just have to believe he will return."

All of a sudden, they heard thunder and saw lightning in the distance. It was heading this way.

"We better find some shelter, Lucy." Happy suddenly said.

Lucy suddenly got more worried. "B-but Natsu..." It was starting to rain.

He will find us when he gets back." Then activating his aera magic, he grabbed Lucy with his tail and flew to a nearby cave.

While being carried, Lucy looked back to the forest, where she saw more flames shooting out in another explosion.

Come back safe, Natsu…

(Back into the forest)  
The obsidian hound jumped back a few feet from the destruction. It knew the kid felt it for sure but still held an amused expression when the flame Mage staggered, trying to get up.

"That was a cheap shot," Natsu said while coughing up some spit, one arm holding his sides and the other bleeding where Hellgar bit him. His eyes were covered from the now wet pink hair, and it was even more obscured by the rain now that it was getting heavier.

The hellhound chuckled again. "You have to learn to be unpredictable, especially against an opponent who shares the same magical abilities. You have to be smart, cunning, and above else be several steps ahead of their movement!" With that, Hellgar lunged again before the Mage could fully stand aiming another bite towards the throat, but Natsu, sensing the impending attack rolled out of the way just in time, splashing in the now muddy terrain. Then, as he grabbed onto the hellhound's tail, he noticed the obsidian dog's steps falter. With another yell, he threw the hound several feet into another boulder, but not before thinking about what just happened.

'W-what was that?' The pink-haired teen thought, then he realized something' Wait could it be-?'

Before he finished thinking, the obsidian hound dashed around him and wrapped his tail tightly around the teen's neck, causing him to go wide-eyed, grabbing the nimble appendage to try to get it off from around his trachea, or at least tried to. "If you are going to think while on your feet, you got to think a lot faster than that, or at least still pay attention to your surroundings!" He yelled and did some kind of maneuver spinning around while Natsu still trying to pry the tail off, creating a momentum, flung him hard into the same boulder. Natsu hit it back first, causing him to cough in pain as the air from his lungs was forced out of him.

Hellgar was watching him with a sadistic look as the teen was on all fours. He was coughing and wheezing, trying to get oxygen back in his lungs, but it was pretty tricky when his body kept spazzing and gagging from the impact.

'I don't know what to do right now...I want to win fair and square, but how can I do it when we are both evenly matched in flames! And he's no weakling.' Natsu then stopped and opened his eyes wide in an apparent revelation. 'Wait...weakling. When I grabbed his tail earlier, it looked like it hurt. Could that have been his weakness?'

Natsu then looked back at the hound who looked like it was preparing another attack. Narrowing his eyes, the boy decided to take the initiative. 'Screw it. I will take the chance!' Natsu quickly looked around and saw a good-sized tree log and threw it at Hellgar, who then smirked at not only at the brat improvising, but the fact it was a wooden log.

"Nice, but do you think that a measly toothpick can harm me?" Hellgar then bellowed black flame towards the tree, successfully turning it to cinders. "Now, what are you going to throw next." He said while waiting for the smoke to clear, but the next thing he knew was Natsu was not behind the haze.

"I am going to throw you." Said the boy with a manic expression, causing Hellgar to jolt in shock, and before he was able to react, the Dragon Slayer grabbed his tail, pulled him close, and wrapped his arms around the canine's body.

"Shit."

"Time for Natsu's signature move! Fire Dragon Suplex!" At this, he bent backward and with momentum slammed the hellhound deep into the slushy ground burying his head, horns and all. With a wide grin, the pink-haired teen said: "I win!"

The rain continued to pour, the storm now above them.

Dictionary  
Karyuu no kusuburu hi: Fire Dragon Smoldering Fire  
Ayudame: Help Me  
Sobrina: Niece  
Hermano: Brother  
Irse: Go away  
Fuego Infernal: Hellfire  
Karyuu no Houkou: Fire Dragon Roar  
Tsukiko: Moonchild

(1) Robin Williams is a famous and hilarious comedian, actor, voice actor and excellent in our generation if you don't know who he is then either you were too young or don't care, and if it was the latter shame on you! He was the Genie in Alladin, Patch Adams, Lovelace in Happy Feet, Mrs. Doubtfire, and more. Look it up!

(2) If any of you remember Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the Oompa Loompas were small yet round people working in the Chocolate Factory. I couldn't think of a better word to describe Everlue, and beach ball was too standard, in my opinion. 

(3) I was jobless during that time, and I would write to help destress. I have a job now, and I love it! It took 2 years, but I never gave up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Natsu defeated Hellgar, he now has to face another challenge and this time it will put his loyalty and his Dragon Heart to a small test. Will he accept responsibility to the girl and the mysterious visitor? What other challenges will he and the rest of the team have to face?

After the defeat of the hell hound Hellgar, the trio, Mephisto, Amaimon, and the girl were looking at the battle screen with wide eyes. Then the Space-Time Demon clapped his hands with excitement. "Splendid! I did not think he will find a demon's weakness so soon. I quite enjoy this fellow!"

Amaimon agreed. "That it is, but the battle was short-lived. I wanted some more fun."

"That is because you wanted some bloodshed, huh, Tío?" The girl said with a look that is half disgusted, half amused. "It is interesting, though, that he has not only to have an animal instinct but can adjust on the fly."

Both the demons looked at her in concern. "Hermano, we need to hurry." Amaimon said while rubbing the girls back, who was now breathing heavily from the shock. Just then, Amaimon gave her a lollipop from his storage space, which I think is not a good idea, in my opinion.

(Amaimon blinked and looked at me in confusion. "Why don't you think it is a good idea?"

My right eye twitched, "The girl is struggling to breathe, and you are trying to give her a lollipop. You might suffocate her."

"Ah, but didn't you write the script for me to do this?"

"Yes, but I also write on the fly. So I type then think of the repercussions."

"Amaimon, let her write as she please, it makes it more interesting."

"OK."

"Anyway, no more fourth-wall-breaking, get back to the story!"

"Until you think of something else to complain about."

"Shut up!")

"I am aware of that, but he needs to pass Celestina's Barrier. I will pay him a visit now." Mephisto said and went with a flamboyant poof of pink.

Outside the Barrier  
Lightning was more active now, with each flash showing the silhouette of Natsu jumping and Hellgar still in the ground with his legs curled inwards like a dead spider. He was jumping up and down from his victory when all of a sudden, Hellgar disappeared with a pop, causing the teen to stop and look at the now-empty hole with a confused look. "What the-AAAAAHHHH!" The pink-haired teen jumped high into the air when another pop was heard literally right behind him, showing the Demon King of Time and Space. "The hell's going on!? I mean c'mon, warn a guy next time!" 

However, Mephisto bowed his head, covered from the rain by the umbrella, then spoke up. "Gomen'nasai, but I do like seeing people's reactions. After all, I am a demon." Mephisto then looked at Natsu with a quirky smile. "I am here to let you know about the second trial before being able to rescue the person who called for help."

"Huh?" Natsu said with a confused look, head tilting to the side. Then all of a sudden, a light flickered in his head. "Ah! That's right, somebody was asking for help, and that is why Hellgar fought me!" He then looked back at the purple barrier, he squinted his eyes when he noticed something off. The barrier seemed lighter. Sniffing a few times, he finally said, "The smell of the magic is not as strong as before." Then he turned to the demon newcomer, "What happened? What is this Barrier?" Not to mention, it still looks familiar.

Mephisto then looked up in thought. "As to answer your first question, I cannot answer fully, but I will say that the explosion here was caused by a successful escape. As from who I will let the girl tell you when ready. As the second question, you asked, this barrier..." He then jabbed at the amethyst dome. "Is known as Celestina's Barrier, a powerful defense created by the child's deceased mother. I hear that only a certain clan or magic can go through it if he has a pure heart. By the way, I saw your battle with Hellgar, you put up quite a show." Said the Demon King with quite an amused look on his face. "Ah, that is right, I never got your name now did I?"

Natsu boasted again, jumping high into the storm-ravaged air. "Hehee, yeah, that fight with him was awesome! You saw my suplex, right? I am so ama-AAAAAAGH!" A loud boom was heard, and the unfortunate fire mage was struck with a powerful jolt of electricity, while he was in the air. Charred black, wide-eyed, and still sizzling like a carne asada, he landed on the ground while Mephisto looked at him with a sweat-drop, and his shoulders were shaking, trying to hold in his laughter.

*snort* Covering his mouth, the demon tried to regain his composure, "A-ah, are you OK there?" He said shakily. You could see his white flamboyant top hat unconsciously shake as well.

Still twitching from the multi-million-volt spasm, Natsu let out a harsh cough, and smoke came out of his mouth, voice becoming raspy. "Y-yeah, I-I think I will stay in this hole for now. Name's Natsu Dragneel, Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail."

After hearing his name, the demon widened his eyes. Ah, no wonder he can understand her. Celestina did say something about them. "Well, Natsu-Kun, I am Mephisto Pheles, Demon King of Time and Space. I came here at the request of the girl's mother to send her here for protection, and I must find a certain person who is willing to do so." He then looked at the teen with a discerning eye. "We believe you can do it since you are the only one who found our location, but somehow you were able to understand our demonic language."

Now sitting up, the Flame Mage was actually listening, then he finally remembered something. "Wait, I know I have seen that barrier before..."

Mephisto was intrigued, "Do you now?"

"Yeah, it is also known as the Amatista, where the castor of the barrier chooses that one person they trust to take care or become friends of the castor. But it only chooses someone of a loyal clan or certain magic. In this case, those who have Dragon Slayer Magic taught by the Dragons are the most loyal, due to our hidden built-in ability Dragon Heart. We gain a certain power and ferocity to protect those we care about. It is a blessing and a curse, for not only is it used to become stronger, but it also destroys us if we break it." Natsu was looking down with his bangs covering his eyes. The rain was now lightening up, and the main storm was moving away.

Tilting his head in confusion, Mephisto asked a few more questions, "How do you know this? Have you met somebody with this ability before?"

The pinkette nodded, "Yeah, my father Igneel told me of this spell and what to do if I saw one, I also met a woman before who has that same magic. Although I was still learning how to use mine, I still was able to sense how powerful she was. She had sea-green hair and amazing star-like eyes, like a nova." He then laughed, "She was an amazing healer, and she used what she called Soul Magic. She showed me this barrier once before."

Mephisto widened his eyes when the Dragon Slayer described his dead wife's magic and appearance, no wonder she told him to come here, she had someone she trusted here.

"I wonder what happened to her?" He asked questioningly, causing the demon to flinch a little. "Wait a minute, deceased mother, Celestina's Barrier...no way." Natsu went wide-eyed when he came to the I-hope-it-can't-be-true realization. "She's dead, isn't she?" He asked quietly.

"...I'm afraid so...she was murdered in the world of Assiah, leaving a daughter. She was taken as a slave, and when I found her, she was barely hanging on, so I sent her here."

"You did kick that dipshit's ass, right!?" Natsu growled with a menacing aura emanating from his person. In fact, for a split second when Pheles looked at him, he thought for a fleeting moment that Iblis was there, black and red flames acting in the background like the fiery pits of hell.

This made Mephisto smiled menacingly after that little performance, "Oh, don't worry about that, I made sure that he became my bitch." At this, both of them laugh devilishly. When the demon regained his composure and continued. "Either way, back to business, since you know the barrier's effects, are you willing to risk your life protecting my daughter?"

"Wait, daughter? Why don't you protect her?" He said with a glare to the demon, but he was unfazed. Hmmm, I wonder what will happen if he meets Erza?

He had a simple explanation, "Well, your kingdom is known as a neutral nation, so it will be far easier to keep her safe. As in my world, Assiah and Gehenna are always in a constant battle. And since she is a half-demon, she is more likely to become possessed. I am hoping you can teach her some magic, and that boost might be able to jump-start and control her powers."

Natsu then thought some more, barely noticing that the rain completely stopped. After a while, he gave up and threw his hands in the air. "Ahhhh, I give up! It is making my brain hurt!" He then crossed his arms and turned to the Demon King of Time. "I understand part of what you are saying, I don't know anything about Ass-iah or Gee-henna or any of that, but if you want me to protect her and teach her magic, I can help, but I can't do this alone. Can I get help from my friends?"

"As long as she trusts them as well, then I don't see why not." Mephisto agreed.

"All right, let get this over with." He walked towards the barrier and raised his right hand, creating flames in his palm. This flame was unique, instead of the usual burning orange flame, it somehow became white and pulsated like a heartbeat. Mephisto also noticed it did not feel destructive but the opposite, life, and it made him smile even more.

Touching the center of the black circle, he heard a familiar voice pop in his head. "Hello, my dear Natsu." His eyes became wide in his mindscape when he saw a woman appear from out of nowhere. She was wearing a beautiful blue kimono with yellow stars streaking at the bottom of her flowing sleeves and bottom. She has long, straight sea-green hair, with flat bangs covering her eyes. Natsu was frozen, not daring to believe she was Celestina. Her appearance was the same, but he still refused. The only way he can get confirmation, slowly and but surely he walked towards the entity, keeping his eyes on her smile. Once the teen reached his destination and stopped, took a deep breath, and slightly bent over to look underneath the bangs, They were what he remembered, starry, sky blue eyes, full of warmth, and nurture. After a while, the shock started to fade. "Celestina-Bachan, y-you're...?"

Smiling sadly, she shook her head, "I am sorry, but I am only a projection caused by the barrier to protect my daughter." Celestina then continued, "Before you make the promise, I would like to tell you a little of my Reika's story if you are interested?"

Natsu shrugged, "Not really, everybody has their secrets, and she can tell me if she wants to. Besides, Mephisto told me enough to protect her from harm or from being possessed, but I forgot to ask from who?"

The woman suddenly frowned, losing all kindness in her eyes. "She has uncles who are full-blooded demons who would love to possess those who will be long-lasting hosts for them. She has seven uncles who are demon kings, and only a few have human forms like Iblis and Amaimon. Usually, those who don't have that form cannot stay in the world of Assiah for very long, so they find suitable hosts. Half-demons like Reika are good examples, and not only that, they can live in Gehenna too. That is another thing why I want her here in this world."

At this, Natsu tilted his head to one side, raised an eyebrow, and a flame in the shape of a question mark appeared above his head. "Huh?"

"As demons, they can live freely in Gehenna, but half-demons can go in both worlds. Not my daughter, though." Celestina said, sadness taking over again. "She does not exhibit any demonic powers, so if she goes to Gehenna, she will surely die."

Natsu blinked a few times, "So that is why you want her to learn magic. To protect herself from the dangers ahead."

She nodded in agreement.

Natsu then gave Celestina his signature smile, "Leave it all to my friends and me. If I remember right, there are demon slayer magic. I can ask Jiisan if he has any ideas." At this, he extended his hand out to Celestina, agreeing to the terms.

Tears started falling from the former Soul mage, hearing his resolve made her really happy. "Thank you Natsu, I entrust you in the protection of my daughter Reika Pheles. The terms have been set. Amatista and Dragon Heart have now been bound." At this Celestina, then hugged the fire mage and started dissipating flowing into the arm of the fairy tail emblem. "I know she will be in good hands, Natsu. Oh, and tell Amaimon that he will be joining you in his niece's little adventure, *giggle*."

"Don't worry, this is a promise I am determined to keep." Replied Natsu, with slight tears in his eyes and a determined smile.

Outside the Barrier  
Mephisto Pheles, the Demon King of Space and Time, watched the scene with an amused expression on his lidded-like eyes. Celestina's barrier was once a beautiful purple, now became a purple and white swirl after Natsu put his hand on the magic circle, indicating the start of the ritual. He also noticed the boy's eyes changed color as well, from grayish-green to a starry blue, which he knew the Wyrmling made the connection with his deceased wife, and his thoughts rang true when he heard him mumble a few times, one word that caught his attention was Celestina-Bachan. "Well, I guess he did know my dear wife to a degree. I like him more and more each minute!" Stated, while lowering his head and touching the front part of his white top hat with his fingers, smiling more widely in excitement.

"Ani, why did the ritual start without me? That is no fun." Amaimon showed up a while later in a puff of moss green smoke, sounding a little more frustrated, but still maintaining his bored-looking composure with his usual lollipop.

"Amaimon, how is my lovely daughter, Reika?" Mephisto asked a little too happily, "And don't worry, you did not miss much. It is just about to get even more exciting!"

"Really?" Questioned Amaimon, with his head slightly tilted and a hand in his pocket. "And Rei is currently resting. Once the spell activated, it somehow put her in a sleep-like state." He then looked at the Barrier and Natsu. "Will he accept the responsibility? How will we know if he fails or not?"

"Apparently, despite his oblivious nature, he is familiar with his barrier and your sister-in-law, and he says it has something to do with his magic imprint called Dragon Heart, where the ones who knows dragon slayer magic has a dragons instinct to strongly protect those he cares about, at the cost of one's life. As to how we know, two possibilities could happen. If he accepts the terms and the creator approves, the barrier will turn completely blue, and a mark will be imprinted somewhere on his person, likely hidden. But," Mephisto dragged that word for a while, spinning his hideously pink umbrella and gaining a mischievous grin. "If he fails to make the terms, the barrier will turn black, and some curse will be set upon him. As to what that curse will be, I have no idea!" He finished with a nonchalant shrug.

Amaimon hummed, secretly getting excited about the possible outcome. One side of him wants this plan to succeed to help protect his niece, but being a demon as he is, he also wants the boy to fail, wanting to know what gruesome punishment will be put upon. Fortunately, his focus was mainly on Reika, and he is determined to keep her safe.

While the Earth Demon was lost in his thoughts, he did not realize the magic barrier was starting to react until he got smacked with the usual umbrella from Mephisto. "Heads up, the end is near!"

Sure enough, the barrier started to react brightly. From what was once a purple-red combo, now became a brilliant sky blue and started fusing with Natsu, more specifically his Fairy Tail tattoo. What was once a solid red soon became red with a blue hue that blended around the mark's eye and outer edges. A little bit of his hair changed too, the three points of his bangs they were pointing up had now turned from his natural pink hair to a galactic black that sparkles in the moonlight. Then a bright flash appeared in a brilliant blue pillar indicating the end of the ritual. Once the brightness was gone, the demon duo uncovered their eyes and saw Natsu turning around, holding the still injured and exhausted ten-year-old girl, wearing the raggedy clothes of her past life.

He looked at the child with a mix of sadness, anger, and relief. Sad and angry that she is in that condition and that she had to suffer much from it, and relief because she is alive and realized she is almost the exact image of his Celestina-Bachan. There were slight differences though, she had small pointed ears and a silver tail, currently hanging towards the ground, and her complexion was pale from the lack of sunshine. Her eyes seemed slightly slanted, giving a feral look, but he could tell even through her closed eyes that she possessed the same kindness as her mother. "She really been through a lot," said Natsu before looking up and saw Mephisto and a new visitor. He looked at the younger-looking demon questionably until he remembered something he and Celestina talked about. "You must be Amaimon, one of Reika's uncles." Then he sniffed the air a few times and confirmed something. "That's what I thought, I thought I smelled someone following me, it was you wasn't it?"

The demon duo looked at the Dragon Slayer with a shocked expression. No one was able to detect Amaimon, no one, yet he was able to smell him? And the earth demon was downwind! "I am impressed you were able to detect me, I use the earth to mask my scent, yet you were able to do it." The Earth Demon said.

At this, Natsu smiled, "Your right, you did smell like the earth, but I was able to detect something else, and it was that you also smelled like lollipops." Once the flame mage said that Amaimon faulted and Mephisto went bighead at his little brother.

"I thought I told you to not eat those sweets when you are on watch!" Yelled a furiously purple-haired demon, several tick marks popping out of his head and tip.

"I thought he was far away." Amaimon said, shrinking in response to the Time Demon's Bighead.

"A dragon's nose can smell things miles away." Stated Natsu with a deadpan expression.

Amaimon then sweatdropped with that response. "Ah, that explains it."

It was then that the girl in Natsu's arm started to shift, groaning from pain and exhaustion. When she opened her pale star eyes, she saw the pink-haired boy staring right down at her with a soft and warm expression. "Hey, I'm glad you are awake. How are you feeling?" He said with a smile.

"Sore, but somehow I feel like some energy is coming back to me." She shifted a little and winced from the wounds. Then a cold wind from the passing storm blew around them and made her shiver. "I'm cold." She suddenly felt the gravity shift as Natsu gently sat on the ground and lightly put her on his lap. With one hand holding her top half close to his body for warmth, his other hand was unwrapping his white dragon scale scarf from his neck and wrapped it around her body. Since she was small in stature and the scarf was long, he was able to wrap it around a few times before tying it up around her midsection.

"How about that, better?" Natsu asked, and to Reika, it did feel warm from him wearing, and it also had something else, she sensed a spirit in the scarf as well but thought it was his kindness. "So warm~" Was all she responded and went back to a more comfortable sleep.

All three of the guys were looking the child for a few minutes until a chime was heard from Mephisto's hat, which he took it off and put his hand inside then pulled out, revealing a unique cuckoo clock with numbers and scales for which only he can read. "Oh my, it is time for us to go, Amaimon. We have an appointment to keep with the dimensional portal. Eins, Zwei, Drei~" A mirror popped out of nowhere with a snap of his fingers, golden frame design and a draconian marking was on top of the mirror and pink swirls inside the mirror. Then he entered the portal in a poof of pink smoke. Amaimon was about to join his brother as well when Natsu stopped him.

"Hold on," the earth demon hummed in question. "I forgot to mention this to you earlier, but I have a request from Celestina-Bachan for you."

Amaimon stopped in his tracks and blinked a few times at Natsu, not knowing what that request would be.

Outside the Forest  
In a cave a few miles away from the forest, Happy and Lucy sat around the fire pit, waiting for Natsu's return. It has been storming for a good while, and it was one of the few worries they had, especially when they kept hearing and feeling earthquakes and finally a pillar of light coming from the forest Natsu was in, so both of them were mentally drained.

"*groan*...This is by far the strangest and stressful day I have had to deal with so far. I want to go home!" Lucy yelled and started to throw a tantrum on the ground, kicking up dirt in the process.

"Aye, we will get home eventually, we just have to wait for Natsu." Happy replied, floating over the fire with his Aera magic, and his tail was...well...

"Aren't you afraid your tail is gonna catch fire.." Lucy replied with a deadpan expression.

"Natsu will eat the flame off of it." Was his reply.

"You do know he is not here at the moment." Lucy slowly responded.

"Aye!"

Lucy groaned and put her head back on her knees, mumbling something about a 'stupid cat.'

Just then, she started hearing many footsteps coming towards her and Happy.

"Happy heads up. Somebody's coming." Lucy said harshly, getting ready into a defensive position, a hand touching the Celestial Keys.

"Aye," the cat said seriously as well and hid in the shadows.

The two footsteps came closer and closer until all of a sudden, one set was only heard, and it halted before the entrance of the cave.

Wait, what is going on? Thought Lucy as she peeked between a corner of the rock she was hiding behind. Where is the other guy? She was scanning the area when suddenly, she heard a monotonous voice right behind her. "Hello."

"Hieeeeeek!" Lucy jumped sky high and landed on her butt, holding a hand to her chest. Clearly hyperventilating, she did not have the strength to summon any of her Celestial Spirits at the moment. Then she heard hysterical laughter from the entrance of the cave, and it sounded so familiar, and it set her off.

"Natsu, you are a jerk!" She yelled as she got up and ran towards the mage preparing a 'Lucy Kick,' but she stopped when she saw a girl in his arms, tightly holding a piece of his black vest during her sleep. "Who is this, Natsu?" Lucy looked at the child with concerned eyes.

Happy now appearing and landing on his head, he looked down at the girl curiously as well. "This is Reika, we will be taking her to Fairy Tail, there are some things I need to talk to Jiji about." Lucy was about to ask what, but he cut her off. "I'm sorry, Lucy, but I need to talk to him about it first."

Nodding, she then realizes she forgot about the guy who snuck up behind her. Turning around, she yelled, "Alright, you, you had your fun, come on out!"

Then Amaimon came out of the ground right next to her, causing another scream. "Wheeee! That reaction was so much fun! I am glad Natsu told me you scare easily."

The Celestial Mage huffed at Natsu and glared at him with her arms crossed. "Well, I'm glad I gave you a good impression," she said sarcastically. The next thing we knew, we heard a girl chuckle, and all looked at the child, who is now fully awake. "Hi, there." She said.

Reika tried talking to Lucy back but realized she only speaks the demon language, and it cannot be translated unless by another demon or someone trustworthy. Looking at Natsu, she asked him to say what she is saying to Lucy.

"Strange," Natsu said, "Lucy, Reika says she's glad to meet you too, and when are we heading to this Fairy Tail I had talked about?"

Lucy was intrigued by the new language and wanted to know more about it. But knowing the girl is injured and tired, the blond had set the question aside for now. "Tomorrow morning we will set to Magnolia, we need to get you bandaged up properly first then get some rest."

The next morning Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Amaimon, and Reika continued walking in the forest heading towards Magnolia after a light breakfast. (Well, very light since Natsu and Happy at most of the food in the middle of the night, earning a powerful Lucy Chop when she found out, causing the moon-haired girl Reika to giggle and Amaimon sweat drop in fear.) They kept on walking until they reached the forest swamp and, well…someone started complaining.

"Are you serious!? Why can't we go around it?" Whined Lucy, anime tears falling from her face.

"Unless you want to walk another 3 miles to get to where we are going, be my guest. It will be a lot quieter without you complaining every five seconds." Replied the bored voice of Amaimon. He was also sporting a tick mark on his head only to get bigger every time she complained.

The blonde then turned around to look at the Earth Demon, "Shut it, you! How do you know how big the swamp is anyways? You are new to Earthland!" Clearly, she did not like the moss-haired demon, and the reason was this: bugs in hair anyone?

Amaimon sighed in frustration, rare for a non-emotional demon. "I am the Demon King of Earth, I can easily see the landscape of the land due to the energy here, I can usually sense the vibrations of life, but something is interfering at the moment..." Amaimon mumbled, and when Lucy was about to give her theory, he waved his hand, cutting her off. "Besides the point, the point is that I don't see why you are complaining so much, it is just a swamp, it is part of the beauty of the earth."

While those two are continuing to bicker at each other Happy, Natsu, and Reika were looking at them with a deadpan expression and a big sweat drop behind their heads. Reika, however, was flicking her tail in annoyance.

"*sigh* I don't see what the big fuss is about, it is a straight line to Fairy Tail, right?" Reika asked the pinkette Natsu, who was grumbling with his arms folded.

"Yeah, but why do they hate each other so much?" The flame mage said, oblivious to the pranks Amaimon set on her last night. Grumbling some more, he called over to the two, in the middle of the argument. "Hey, guys can we get a m—"

"WOULD YOU STAY OUT OF IT?" Both Lucy and Amaimon screamed, causing them to go bighead and poor Natsu to sweat bullets and shrink.

"S-sorry!" Was all he could squeal.

Lucy then rounded back to Amaimon. "Who wants to walk through a murky, disgusting, smelly swamp anyway moss head!? What if I sink!?" Just then, a stake with the word moss head struck the earth demon.

Reika flinched when she heard the blonde say one of the taboo words her uncle despised, "Oh shit…here we go."

"Moss head?" Amaimon repeated, now losing his monotonous tone. "The only thing disgusting and murky here is you acting like a spoiled brat who does not like getting down and dirty Hime no Baka! You can cross the swamp easily, and you don't have to worry about sinking because of those two large buoys in front of you!" He emphasized by lifting both hands and made a mocking grabbing motion to his chest area. This caused two imaginary stakes to pierce both breasts with the word 'large' and 'buoy.'

"Ooooh, burn!" Said a flying happy, which caused Reika to laugh, and Lucy threw a moss-covered rock at the flying cat. Serves her right, Amai-Ji does not like anyone making fun of his hair.

"My boobs aren't that big!" The blonde retaliated while covering her breasts, which is hard because of the size. "At least I don't have a head that looks like broccoli!"

Amaimon then blinked a few times at the insult, then he touched the tip of his head, sure enough, it is puffed up like a broccoli crown. At this, a knife pierced through his heart with the word "Broccoli" on it. After the shock of discovering it, he was going to round on her again when all of a sudden, he felt familiar energy that instinctively made him shiver.

He was not the only one though, everybody else sensed it too, and it focused around the moon haired girl, who they saw quite clearly was agitated. She was shaking, and her eyes were being shadowed from her moon-like hair.

"This is so stupid." Growled Reika, her voice was becoming dark and sinister. This caused Natsu to back away from her a little bit, the pressure was intense. Wasn't she laughing about a minute ago?

"W-what is going on?" Lucy started to shake and stared at the girl, wide-eyed. What power, is her magic starting to activate?

"This is not good." Replied Amaimon, he recognizes that power. And he feared it for some reason.

"If you guys won't get along willingly, then I will make you!" Yelled Reika, and everyone but Lucy and Happy understood.

"W-wait Reika- Hold on…"

"Uno." Two lavender magic circles appeared underneath both the Celestial Mage and Earth Demon.

"We will stop, fighting…" Amaimon started, but he realized they were screwed when Lucy opened her big mouth. "What do you mean WE!?"

"Dos." Two purple vines came out of the circles, wrapped them around, and lifted them both into the air.

"AAAAAAHHHHH! What is this!?" Lucy screamed, eyes going big-eyed and anime tears falling in fear.

Amaimon responded in a tone that was not familiar to his usual monotone. "T-this is Celestina's spell, a-apparently she taught Reika this while trying to teach her magic, it is a defense mechanism. Alma Ira." This is going to hurt, a lot.

"Tres!" At the last command, the vines whipped themselves and joined together at the tip.

WHAK!!!!

The impact was heard all through the forest, causing a few birds nearby to take flight in surprise. Meanwhile, at the epicenter of the sound, Lucy and Amaimon were still wrapped up in the vines. The only difference is that they got slammed into each other headfirst, causing them to pass out, steam coming from their foreheads and their ghosts to come out of their mouths saying the word "itai~" in a haunting way.

At the source of the power, Reika was heavily panting and wobbly from the first time use of her magic. 'So this is what magic feels like..' She thought. 'I am glad mom was teaching the basics of Soul Drive, but she did not tell me how to control the amount of energy to use during the incantation.'

In the background behind Reika, you could see Natsu and Happy staring at her in shock and fear. "H-happy?"

"A-aye."

"Remind me not to agitate her too much. Otherwise, she could beat me up like Erza, o-or worse."

"A-Aye."

At this, the moon-haired girl looked at Natsu, who flinched at the tired-like glare. "Got it," He then looked at Lucy and Amaimon. "Hey guys, Reika says if you guys don't stop fighting, she will smack you again. She wants to leave the forest and get to Magnolia as soon as we can. And she is definitely not in a mood to hear arguments."

Amaimon was the first to come back to the living. "Y-yeah, I will tone it down. It may not be fun, but I don't want to get hit like that again. At least, not without reason..." Who knew that busty blondes head was so hard.

"O-ok, I will stop complaining. I will use Horologium to carry me through the swamp." Responded Lucy, causing everyone to stare at her in agitation.

'Why didn't she do that in the first place instead of complaining!'

The next thing they heard was a short breath and a thud, and then the two purple vines disappeared, causing Lucy to fall on her ass and Amaimon to land on his feet. The moon-haired girl had finally passed out due to magic deprivation, eyes spinning in dizziness. "I think I'm gonna hurl…I feel like I am on a boat..."

Hearing that, Natsu thought what she said for a moment, immediately causing him to feel queasy and put his hands to his stomach and mouth. "Urp..."

Amaimon walked up to the child and checked her out."…..Will this happen to Rei often?"

"It will until she gets used to her magic," Lucy said while rubbing her bum. "Since that was her first time casting the spell, she will be out for a while. Reika did just start to naturally absorb the Ethernano once she got here, but I am surprised she was able to use it on her own."

"Well, anyway," Natsu said, regaining his composure from the vertigo sensation and picked the moon-child up gently. "We better get going; we got a couple hours left until we reach Fairy Tail." He then proceeded to wade into the swamp, followed by Amaimon and a silently crying Lucy.

(Time skip: a mile into the swamp)  
"Are you sure you are going the right way, Natsu? Lucy asks questionably." Lucy was inside her spirit, Horologium, who looked like a giant grandfather clock. So obviously she can fit in it.

"Since when you have doubted my nose, Lucy?" Responded Natsu. He was currently wading in the swamp with Happy on his head. He was also carrying Reika in his arms, still groggy from using her magic for the first time. "Besides, Happy says we are going the right way."

"Have some faith, I am a cat. I have a great sense of smell." Said Happy sniffing the air. "My nose will get us home."

"It is dogs that have a sense of smell, and what does it have to do with direction, she asks quite sarcastically." Said Horologium. "And another thing, where is that Punk-brat? She says suspiciously."

Just then, something started bubbling in front of Lucy, causing her to look at it curiously. Then out of nowhere, a green alligator popped out of the swamp and stared at the blonde with bored look eyes.

"Aaaaaaaahhh, Natsu, save me! She says fearfully." Replied Horologium with the Celestial Mage having a panic attack inside.

Natsu turned around and laughed. "Relax, Lucy, it is just Amaimon."

"But why is he an alligator!? She yells furiously."

Amaimon answered her question. "It is my animal form, most high-level demons can transform into animals. And another thing, don't call me a brat. I am several hundred years older than you."

"Oh, she says with a deadpan expression," Horologium repeated. "Yet you act like a brat, she mumbles under her breath."

*kick* "Horologium!"

"Oh, sorry, you weren't supposed to hear that."

Amaimon had a tick mark on top of his right eye, and it was twitching in anger.

Once they got out of the swamp, Natsu dried up using his flames, and Amaimon just transformed back into human form. And Lucy, well, she was still inside Horologium. (Seriously, how lazy can she get?) She then heard a knock at the Celestial Clock's door. Once she looked up, she saw that Reika was looking at her with her cheeks puffed in annoyance.

"We are out of the swamp, you can walk now." Said Reika. (Natsu is repeating her words by the way)

"But I am tired, she says childishly."

"That is because you used your energy to complain."

"You're still tired too," Lucy stated, and Reika didn't respond. She did look exhausted, having bags under her eyes. "Why don't you come in, you can sleep some more."

"…That does sound nice."

Just then, the five heard rustling from a nearby bush and saw two yellow glares of eyes coming from it. "Who's there!?" Natsu yelled and jumped behind the bush and started fighting

"Why is it the first instinct you use is to fight? She says worryingly." Horologium said.

And your first instinct is to complain. Thought Reika with a deadpan expression. Amaimon was looking in curiosity.

The bush rustled some more, and two people jumped out from behind it. One was being Natsu, the other was a half-naked teen with raven like hair, droopy eyes, cross-like sword as a pendant. (If you have not seen Rave Master, it is the replica of the empowerment sword.)

"It's Gray." Said Happy.

"But why is he in his underwear, and what is he doing here? Lucy says questionably."

This guy gives me the creeps... Reika thought.

"I went looking for a bathroom." The ravenette said.

"Why do you need to strip to use the bathroom?" Natsu replied, now showing a dark look at Gray. "And why would anyone think of using the bathroom in the middle of the forest?"

Amaimon blinked at the pinkette for what he just said. "Natsu, not everyone can find an outhouse in the forest. Besides its good fertilizer."

This made everyone look at him in disgust. "You just had to say that? Thanks for the image. She says grossly."

"No problem."

(Time skip: Outside the forest)  
Once out of the forest, the five of them decided to relax on the nearby site of the cliff near the lake. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

"Amazing, this place is so beautiful. Is that big building Fairy Tail?" Reika asked, pointing to the town on the other side of the lake.

"Sure is Reika, and soon enough you and Amaimon would meet Jiji," Natsu said with his hands behind his head, and an infectious smile. "Maybe you can join Fairy Tail too, and I am sure he can teach you some magic and control your Soul Drive."

"It does sound like fun!" She replied, getting excited. She then frowned and looked back at the pinkette. “What if I don’t want to use Soul Drive? Will I be able to learn other magic?”

Natsu looked up to the sky with his hands behind his head. That is a good question, I am not good at this regarding this kind of subject, but I think I know the basics. “It is kinda difficult to explain, you can read the books and you can simply use basic magic which responds to the Ethernano in your body. When it comes to some elemental or energy magic that will be more different. If I recall your body and magic has to be one with one particular magic and that will be your strongest power.”

“Wow, Natsu. I am surprised.” Lucy said with some playful sarcasm. Natsu gained a slight tick mark but stayed quiet as he knows they don’t see him like this often. “He is right Reika, you can use basic magic especially if they are in magical items like a flame la'chryma for cooking or adding them to weapons. As for the individual magic of the person, one or two elements can be more attuned to your Ethernano makeup as well as Attack and Supportive attributes, with the latter depending on your personality.”

“What was mama’s Ethernano makeup?”

Gray answered the question this time. “She was mostly supportive with using her Soul Drive for protection and healing spells. She would occasionally use offensive spells but it was rare.”

“I see.”

"So, Gray, what are you doing here in the forest?" Happy asked, sitting on the cliff fishing.

"I was just finished with my mission, and Fairy Tail is a straight line through the forest." Said Gray, now wearing a white t-shirt and black pants.

"See, I told you." Happy said smugly.

"Oh yeah, if your nose is so great, why did you not smell him, smart-ass," Lucy said dryly.

"There are some things you don't want to smell."

"By the way, Natsu, I just noticed, what happened to your hair?" Gray asked, completely ignoring the insult Happy gave him.

"My hair?" Natsu said blankly. "What do you mean?" Reika and Amaimon were looking too, Reika was curious as well, but Amaimon knew it was the barrier's side effect.

"I mean, some of your bangs are black like the night sky. Did you somehow burn them?"

"Hah?"

"Gray's right, I did not tell you before, but your hair did change color a bit." Replied Lucy, taking out a small mirror to show Natsu.

He then grabbed the mirror and looked at his bangs in shock. "Wh-what the hell? How did this happen!?" Then he looked at Amaimon, "Did you do this?" He asked the Earth Demon, knowing he likes to do pranks.

"Actually, no." The demon replied. "It is a side effect of the spell you encountered. Same thing with your mark too."

It took a while to process that too until he realized he meant the Fairy Tail emblem. When he looked at his shoulder, sure enough, he noticed the blue hue surrounding it. "Great, I should have known there would be side effects." He said with a deadpan.

"What do you mean?" Replied Gray, looking at Amaimon, then to Lucy, then to Natsu. "What the hell is he talking about?"

But before he could answer, a green goblin-like creature suddenly appeared behind a thick area of brush and summoned a golden magic circle causing the area to explode. When the dust cleared away Lucy was on all fours hand, and legs buried in the sand and her rear was facing Gray, Gray was up to his midriff looking confused as hell, Amaimon was up in the tree somehow excited, and Natsu was upside down in the sand, legs bowed like a frog.

"What the hell was that!?" Yelled Gray.

"Wheee! That was so much fun!" Said an excited Amaimon.

"Owww, that hurt!" Complained Lucy.

"Wheee! That was so much fun!" Exclaimed Amaimon again.

"Happy!" Yelled Natsu, with sand coming out of his mouth. "Reika!"

They all looked around the nearby area and could not find them, and they all yelled in unison. "Where the hell are those two!?"

Now, Back Inside the Forest  
"Nnnn, wha-what happened?" Reika opened her dawn blue eyes and blinked a few times to ease the blurriness and headache. She remembers hearing an explosion, something hitting her head, and then nothing. Once she started regaining her cognitive thinking, she realized that she was hanging on a large tree bound by her hands. What the hell is this!? She thought in fear. Then Reika heard somebody yell for help and saw five people surrounding a familiar blue cat. What the hell, what are they doing to Natsu-Nii's cat?

"We're finally gonna get some real protein." The first two were twins with wild, medium-length, dull orange hair, black slightly lazy eyes, and drooling in the mouth. "No berries for us tonight." They were also wearing a purplish-red trench coat with white trimmings, underneath it was a beige V-neck shirt with the collar was black.

"MEAT!" The third was what you can best describe: a big ass chicken, with red hair like a comb and a red beard, beady black eyes with four light blush marks on both cheeks, and he was also drooling. He was wearing blue farmers overall with gold buttons. He looked like one of the yokai, known as a Basan(fire breathing chicken), hence his name.

"Our future holds a feast." The fourth was a fortuneteller wizard named Kiyon. He has medium length smooth black hair, half slanted half droopy eyes, and an expressionless face. He was wearing a purple trench coat with light purple trimmings with a white shirt underneath, silver shoulder armor and knee pads, and dark blue pants. Hovering above his right hand was a floating la'chryma that is glowing a purplish pink.

"Wow, won'tcha look at that, Mike." Said Twin One. "Looks like he's shaking Mars, sheesh." Said Twin Two now known as Mike.

"Relax, you don't need to be scared." Said the final person…or thing named Ryu. He was a short goblin-looking man that is a musty blue in color with elf-like ears and a dark purplish-red target tattoo on his head. He was wearing a green sweater with a hood and brown arm warmers. He also wore a sash with the same purple target draping around his waist, moss-brown pants, and black shoes. "You are going to be in our bellies soon enough."

"Like hell, I will let you do that, you are not going to eat him!" The five looked at the girl who was raging on the tree. "You are out of your mind if you can eat somebody's friend! Let me go so I can beat you, or just wait until Natsu-Nii gets here, your asses will be cooked!"

They were looking at her for a while before one of them spoke up. "Does anyone know what the brat is saying?" Mars asked.

"I have no clue," said Mike.

"Hurry up Link-wannabe, I don't have all day!" Reika continued to rage when eventually her tail quickly whipped the tree leaving a small crater, causing everyone to look at her in shock.

"Well well well, it looks like that brat has some power," Mars said, eyes shadowed and glared at her in amusement. "If she was older, we can create a stronger wizard that will help in Eisenwald's goal." He said with his twin agreeing on what he said. "I agree, and since we are no longer a "legal" guild, I think our leader won't mind if he hears this."

Hearing this, Reika suddenly went quiet and wide-eyed. What do they mean 'no longer a legal guild'?…And why are these two looking at me like that? The moon-haired girl started to shake, they were really making her uncomfortable. The five noticed this, and all of them laughed in amusement.

"It's fine if things happen, we have ways to get rid of her." The twins said together, getting close to her. They both lifted their hands and tried to touch her, causing her to freak out.

"Dame, stay away!" She screamed.

Inside the Forest  
"Happy! Reika! Where are you!?"

Gray, Natsu, Amaimon, and Lucy were now in the forest looking for Reika and Happy. Amaimon was touching the ground, sensing vibrations in the area. Still, everything had vibes different from earth, and the Ethernano made things very fuzzy all over the place and causing so many disturbances. Gray and Lucy looked around the nearby area and called out their names, but they hadn't found any clues or heard anyone. Natsu was trying to sniff them out in all directions. Still, strangely enough, he was barely getting anything of the stranger's scent that he detected in the area of the explosion nor Happy nor Reika, they had some kind of anti-detection barrier or some type of scent masking them.

"Picked up anything, Natsu?" Gray asked after looking for 30 minutes.

"Nnnnn," Natsu was still sniffing the air, and the more he sniffed, the angrier he was getting. Eventually, he started breathing fire in a rage. "What the hell's going on!? I barely smell Happy, Reika, and that man who kidnapped them! How can a dragon's nose fail at a time like this!" He then fire-punched a nearby boulder, causing it to explode. Lucy and Amaimon stayed in silence while he was raging. "Where the hell are they!?"

"Natsu, calm down, it's not like you to get this riled up like this. At least, not like this." Gray put a hand on Natsu's shoulder, trying to get his attention, causing him to growl. "Freaking out won't help us find them, we need to-." All of a sudden, Gray's hand got smacked away by the Flame Mage.

"You don't understand, I made a promise to Celestina-Bachan, and I intend to keep it!" Natsu yelled in frustration. "And Happy is my buddy!"

Gray gave him a blank stare after that comment. "What do you mean, Natsu? What promise?"

Natsu looked down in frustration. "..Nothing."

Amaimon then spoke up once he stopped feeling the vibrations under the earth. "I appreciate what you are doing, Natsu, but you should know you can't protect Reika all the time. You don't have to protect Rei over every little thing, but the thing is that we don't know if she was kidnapped by the mages or followed the mages when they kidnapped Happy." He then walked up to him. "Besides, if Rei really is in danger, you will be notified by a special marking that was created during the ceremony."

Natsu thought for a while on what the Earth Demon said. It did make sense, and he was right that he was trying too hard to protect the child. And he did say that he would need the help of friends. "Alright, I'm calm. But what do you mean about the last part, what kind of notification?"

As if on cue, Natsu hissed in pain and grabbed his right arm as his Fairy Tail mark started to glow around the makeshift eye. The teen's black-tipped hair strands started to shine with gold flecks like shooting stars, and he saw Reika tied to a tree with two strangers walking closer to her with an identical, sadistic grin and Happy tied to a stick surrounded by the other three with drool dripping from their mouths.

"Don't you dare touch me!"

"This brat is feisty, she will definitely make things entertaining." Said the Twins. They were caressing her face and trying to remove the scarf around her body. She was squirming, and then she whipped her tail and hit one of the duos, causing him to get sent back several feet into another tree. He then crouched down, coughing and gasping for breath. "This girl…is quite powerful…she wasn't before."

"I wonder if it has to do with her rage or fear?" The other twin said, now keeping his distance.

The chicken mage laughed(more like clucked) at the duo, and the goblin guy grinned evilly. "Looks like we need to put her in her place."

Happy suddenly looked angry, his blue and white tail twitched in annoyance. "Leave her alone!"

"Sure, we will leave her alone…for now." The goblin-man said, chuckling darkly. "We will season you up a bit. Hahaha!"

The vision then cleared, and Natsu's hair returned to normal. Gray, Lucy, and Amaimon were looking at him in confusion, and they were getting scared from the aura he was giving off. He looked livid.

"They do have Happy and Reika, and I don't like what they are planning to do to them." He said darkly, eyes becoming draconian activating his dragon slayer magic. "And now I know where they are! I will tell you guys about the promise I made on the way there, they are near the river."

"Right!" Everybody said in unison.

Everyone started running towards the location while Natsu began explaining about the Bond Barrier, Reika's condition, teaching her magic, and the possibility of her getting possessed by the other 6 Demon Kings of Gehenna. While he was talking, Gray couldn't help but think that the name Celestina sounded familiar. Then it hit him.

"Natsu, this Celestina, you know. She is not one of the most gifted healers in Fiore, is she? The Ten Wizard Saints? The Soul Mage of Fairy Tail? The one we know as the second Guild Master while the Old Man was away? I thought she disappeared seven years ago?"

"She did, I met her before that. She told me a lot about Fairy Tail and the members there. That is also one of the reasons I came to Magnolia in the first place, she made it sound a lot of fun."

"If that's the case, we better hurry up and save her daughter," Gray stated with new determination.

Back to Reika and Happy

"Leave Reika alone! When Natsu gets here, he will kick all your butts!" Happy yelled, still strapped on the campfire stick.

The goblin eventually had enough, "That's it! We are going to cook you now! Basan, light him up!"

"Meat!" The chicken mage now named Basan held the twisted wooden staff with a red la'chryma igniting the magical rod into flames.

"Happy!"

"Hold it right there, buddy!"

"Meat?" The chicken stopped abruptly, and the five goons were looking upon a nearby cliff where Natsu and the others were looking down at them with anger. Natsu continued talking while cracking his knuckles. "That is my friend you are trying to roast pal."

"And that girl is my niece you are holding hostage." Said Amaimon, now in his half-demon, half-alligator form, eyes now shadowed glowing a demonic green. The goons shivered slightly with the killer intent the duo was giving off.

"Natsu-Nii, Amai-Ji!" Reika yelled in relief.

"You all wizards, aren't you? What guild are you from?" Asked Gray.

Then the goblin-man Ryu regained composure, "We're not telling." He then commanded the others. "Get 'em!"

"Gray, Amaimon, let's do this," Natsu said, glaring at the five.

"All right, but don't tell me what to do." Said Gray, arms crossed and looking disapproving.

"How badly can I hurt them?" Asked Amaimon darkly.

"Bad enough to regret their decision."

"Good enough." The earth demon smiled menacingly. "This is definitely going to be fun!"

They all lunged at each other, the twins re-quipped their three-pronged weapons called Sai and lunged at their first target, Natsu, who just dodged and went straight to the goblin.

He countered the pinkette's frontal assault, slammed his fist on the ground, and used magic. "Sand Bomb, go!" The wall of sand then surrounded Natsu and started spinning around him.

"Natsu!" Screamed Lucy. "That idiot, he got caught already!"

Gray just responded without an ounce of caring in his voice, "He'll be fine, you just rescue Happy and the girl."

"Right!

Gray vs. The Twins

"Let's get the lazy looking guy!" Said Mars, summoning magic to make his Sai longer and sharper.

"Wait, which one, Nii-san!" Replied Mike, doing the same thing to his Sai.

"THE ONE THAT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A CROCODILE!"

They lunged at Gray together, trying to attack with their magic enhanced Sai's, but the ravenette just parried and dodged their strikes. Putting his hand on the first twin's weapon, bringing it down away from his stomach, and hitting the guy's chin with an elbow jab. The second twin tried to aim for Gray's head but sidestepped and dealt a powerful roundhouse kick to the side.

Gray just stared at them with his hands in his pockets. "You guys are pathetic, is that the best you can do?"

The twins glared at him, menacingly, "We will show you the true powers of our guild." The said together and adjusted their Sais. "Lightning Charge/Flame Charge!" Each of their weapons was now surrounded by either fire or lightning and lunged at Gray once more.

Gray, in response, just scoffed. "Great, another Flame-Brain and a Lightning Jerk." He then sidestepped the first twin with his electric weapon and twisted his waist around to get a kick around the flame user's waist, causing him to flinch and launch backward towards his older brother. Unfortunately, the way Gray had them placed caused the older twin's Sai to graze the other's shoulder, sending a powerful electric current to his body, rendering him unconscious.

"Mike!" Mars looked livid, his weapon now surging more wildly than ever. "How dare you do that to my brother! I will electrocute you dead!" Now running head-on with his Sai away from him, he transformed his weapon into a long trident. "Lightning Halberd!"

Thrusting the halberd towards Gray, he looked at it impassively before he dodged it in the last second. He then thrust his halberd again, trying to skewer his gut, but the ravenette just twisted aside. This kept going on, thrust, dodge, jab, parry, stab, jump back. Eventually, after several strikes and a messed up battlefield later, only one was panting heavily, and the other just continued to stand like nothing. "Why can't you just die!"

"How can I with weapon and magic skills like that?" Grey said, "You seriously lack in those two departments."

"Why you…"

"Why don't I show you." Gray then smirked, got into his stance, and slammed both fists together. "Ice-Make: Lance!"

Out of Gray's hands shot out multiple ice spears and aimed at the enemy who went wide-eyed in shock. He tried to dodge them, but eventually, he got hit, starting to freeze certain parts of his body. "What the hell?" He struggled to get free until he felt an oppressive aura coming from Gray, who looked like an Oni with his eyes showing a demonic blue.

"Now, this is what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail." He said darkly, causing shivers down Mars' spine. Then he summoned ice again, this time with a devilish grin. "Ice-Make: Ice Maiden!" A gigantic statue of a woman formed above the rogues head, and it started to fall. Seeing his demise, the orangette pissed himself, screaming in high pitched fear. That is what we all heard until the Maiden finally made contact, causing the area to shake furiously, and towering boulders of ice started showering the entire battle area.

"Two down, three to go."

Battle: Gray VS. The Twins

Winner: Gray

Dictionary  
Hermano: Brother  
Gomen'nasai: I'm sorry  
Amatista: Amethyst  
Tío: Uncle  
Alma Ira: Soul Wrath


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the gang is helping this girl to learn some magic to protect herself for the potential dangers ahead, they did not think they would have to save her so soon when Reika and Happy were taken by a group of mages. Amaimon and Natsu are pissed, I would not want to be in the kidnapper's shoes. Do you?

Quick scenario...  
The gang has now found the culprits who kidnapped Happy and Reika, and the position they saw those two made them livid.

"Gray, Amaimon, let's teach these bastards a lesson they will never forget." Stated Natsu with his eyes glowing crimson red.

"Right, just don't tell me what to do," Gray responded back, eyes also shadowed.

"Can I keel(1) them?" Amaimon asked in his gator-human form, eyes showing great disdain.

"That won't give them the message, just hurt them. A few bones would be ok." Natsu responded, cracking his knuckles.

"Fair enough."

Now...

Lucy was done freeing Happy and now was working on releasing Reika. "Hurry up, Lucy, unless you plan to eat her too!" Happy said while trying to claw the ropes off as well."

"Like hell, she/I will!" They both yelled at the cat, eyes fierce and teeth showing.

The next thing they heard was a rooster crowing, and the chicken mage was looking at them menacingly at the trio. "AAAHHHH, please don't eat us, Mr. Basan!" Lucy yelled, holding her hands in surrender.

"Wanisuto!"

"Ba-bawk?" The Basan(3) Yokai suddenly got sent back by Amaimon's scaly green tail in his half-beast form. "Lucy is my sobrina free?" Amaimon said, not leaving his eyes at his target.

"Y-yeah, she's loose." The blonde said with a sigh. "Happy, take Reika to safety. I will help Amaimon with the Basan."

Amaimon smirked, "Just don't get in my way, Kyonyuu."

"As long as you don't get in mine, Broccoli," Lucy replied.

Amaimon and Lucy vs. Basan the Flame Mage

Basan slowly got back up and looked more like an angry yokai, "Get ready to be Clucked!" He said, and everyone was sweat-dropping on what the rogue mage said. That is so lame! They thought in unison.

"Okay.. as stupid as that pun was, I will give you a special gift," Lucy said with enthusiasm. Then with a flourish of her keys, she activated a golden key with horns at the tip. "Open Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!"

A chime and a doorbell ring later, a spirit came out of the ground colored white with black spots looking like a cow-man. His hooves as legs and a massive chest and arms like a human also had bull ears and horns and a giant nose-ring piercing through the center of his nose. Attached to his back was a giant double-edged ax, which he removed with one hand and spun it around with ease.

"MMMMOOOOO!" Tauros yelled as he made his pose to fight. Amaimon was looking at him with hidden excitement. "Wow, I heard of legends of Celestial Spirits, I am glad I get to see one. Though I am surprised, she even has one."

Lucy heard him and gained a pride stance, "I actually have three Golden Gate Keys, and I aim to get them all."

"Hey, Lucy. Your body looks just as juicy as ever. Can I please get a big smooch?" Taurus suddenly said with his tail wagging and hearts for eyes.

Lucy face-palmed, and Amaimon and Reika sweat-dropped. Why is it she/I attract the most perverted creatures?

All of a sudden, there was another rooster call, and the trio looks at the Fire Chicken, who was causing the commotion. Basan was running towards them, and he was flapping his arms and bobbing his head like a woodpecker.

"Pico de Gallo!" He said, and his beak ignited in flames, and he started pecking at Amaimon with his flaming beak. The Earth demon simply dodged the Yokai's every single attack but not without noticing the ground melting from the intense heat of his beak.

At this, Amaimon whistled, "Wow, that beak was hot enough to melt the ground, I'm sure that I'll be quite painful." He said but then smiled menacingly. "But, I highly doubt he'll be on par with Brother Iblis."

"Wani no Tsume!" Amaimon then ran towards the Basan and jumped towards the Basan, then spun around, slamming his scaly fist on his face, shredding some of the feathers off and leaving a red mark.

While Basan was spinning from the impact, he was able to aim a kick to Amaimon, causing him to spit a little then slammed into the cliff.

"Bok bok bok bok, don't count me out just yet!" Basan said, now scratching the ground while summoning his flame staff once again. But Basan forgot one thing: Taurus.

"Mmmmoooo!" Suddenly, two horns slammed into the chicken mages side, causing him to bend then dragged several feet headfirst into the ground. "Don't loooower your guard just yet Chicken Shit, the fun is just getting started!"

Basan was slowly getting up when he heard another explosion. When he looked up, he saw the Earth demon walk out of the rubble dusting himself off while walking towards Basan and Taurus, looking quite amused.

"Thank you for distracting him, cow." Amaimon said, not realizing a tick mark appeared on Taurus's head. "He is putting up a fight, how fun."

Amaimon went back to stare at the Basan, "Now what I am going to do with you...I think I will break your bones in a rockalanche, and then fry you with that staff of yours." The Earth Demon then gained a wicked grin, which then disappeared when he heard a loud rumble behind him.

"Wheeeeee-aaah!" Amaimon suddenly said, jumping out of the way from the fissure Taurus created from his battle-ax. "Watch where you are aiming that thing you poor excuse of a minotaur!"

"Mmmoooo, you were in my line of sight, Marimo. Why don't you let the big boys play first, kid?" Tauros taunted.

The Earth Demon sprouted several tick marks on his head and then jumped towards Taurus's face with anger puffs coming out of his head. "I am a Demon King of Earth, I am several hundred years old! I am not a Gaki, and don't call me Marimo, that nickname belongs to Roronoa Zoro! (2)"

Zoro in another world. "...atchoo!"

"You're a Gaki to me. I have been living in the Spirit World and serving Earthland since before the age of mages!"

The duo was still yelling at each other, sprouting several tick marks and puffs, causing the Basan, Lucy, and Reika to stare at them with sweat drops.

Lucy's and Reika's eyes were twitching in great annoyance. They are both acting like spoiled brats!

After several more yelling and insult stabs, neither Amaimon nor Taurus was noticing the dark aura surrounding the two girls. That is until they snapped and went demon mode.

"Taurus, you can argue with him later! We have to deal with the chicken!" Lucy yelled, towering over her Celestial Spirit, making him sweat profusely and shrink into his chibi form.

"Tío now is not the time!" Reika yelled darkly at her uncle, who flinched when her lavender tail slammed the ground, causing a shockwave and a crater. Her glare is like her mothers, even scarier now with her tail acting on its own. He thought fearfully and shuddered.

"R-right, Reika. Taurus, how about we call a truce for now and stuff those hot rocks up that Basan's ass?" Amaimon said while facing the Celestial Spirit and holding his hand out. Then he got a little closer and whispered to his ear. "We better get this over with, I do not want to deal with two wrathful females."

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

Taurus gulped and nodded in agreement and took his hand. "Mooo, I will agree as well, plus that proposition for that Basan sounds nice. So are we having chicken on the rocks?"

The Earth demon chuckled darkly at the Celestial's question. "That does sound nice, I have been craving some bird."

"That is a good idea," Taurus said, then both shook hands, and they looked at the Basan with evil glares in their eyes, causing the Yokai to cluck and sweat and fear.

"Get ready for my mmmmooeega attack!" Taurus suddenly said and twirled his ax around. "Earthbreaker!" He then slammed the ax on the ground and created a fissure that sped towards the Fire Chicken. Once it reached the target, a massive crater was created from the explosion causing the Basan to crow in fear, arms flailing trying to fly. He then heavily sweat-dropped when he realized he can't fly due to his fat ass. Then came Amaimon, coming out of the ground.

"Now, time to eat some chicken." Amaimon's eyes then warped into the demonic earth symbol and brought both hands forward. In doing so, sharp spikes started surrounding Basan, then a head formed underneath, revealing an alligator head. That was then he knew he was fucked.

"Enjoy!~Arigētākurasshu!" Amaimon said, then slammed his hands together, and the head started to close. All you hear would be the jaw snapping and the high pitch scream of the Basan, as well as the cackling of the Earth Demon King and Taurus and a "Yatta" from Lucy and Reika, then silence.

"Well, Taurus." Amaimon said while coming out of the earth and looking up. (Mind you just realized I did not mention height, but Amaimon is half the size of Taurus.) "That was an entertaining battle, as well as annoying the hell out of you."

"Likewise, Gaki." Replied the Celestial Spirit, and they both chuckled.

Winner: Taurus, Lucy, and Amaimon

"Amazing, Tío! And you too, Cow-Man!" Reika yelled, and Taurus face-faulted when he found out what she said with a little translation.

This caused him to cry anime tears, "I'm a bull, not a cow."

"Reika, we need to keep moving." Happy said, now wrapping his tail around the girl's waist and took to the air. They were almost at the cliff when they slammed right on a pale-pink barrier, causing them to go wide-eyed and slide off with a screech and a splat.

"I am afraid I can't let you two go." Said the bored voice of Kiyon, the La'Chryma Mage. Both looked up and saw the tired-looking Mage looking down at them and holding his usual pink crystal ball. Happy was staring at him in shock while he was upside down and his tail sticking up in the air, while the moon-haired girl was staring daggers at him in frustration.

"And what does a prick like you want?" Reika said, even though she knew he would not understand her.

"The future for you two is not very bright," Kiyon said while his demeanor and face became darker as the glow of his La'Chryma became brighter. "If we let you go, our plan might be ruined." He finished, causing Reika to look at him questionably.

"AAAAAHHHH, he's gonna eat us!" Happy yelled in a panic, legs dancing like crazy, and his paws were on his head. He was also crying anime tears and cried, even more, when Reika whacked him on the head with her tail, shutting him up.

This guy is getting on my nerves! Reika replied and stuck two hands in front of her, summoning some magic. "From the gates of waiting souls and flames of judgment, I summon thee forth." She then joined hands together with her thumb and forefinger touching each other's tip, which the opening was facing towards the La-Chryma Mage and the rest interlacing summoning a magic circle. "Hellgar!"

Black flames appeared from the center of the circle as the paws of a Houndoom started to come out of the inferno. Once he has fully emerged, he let out a mighty roar summoning more flames like a powerful flamethrower.

"She-it!" Gray and Lucy suddenly said when they felt the intense heat from the black flames and looked at the hellhound with wide eyes. Those flames are hotter than Natsu's!

Hellgar looked at the Mage and growled menacingly. "Reika, what do you wish for me?"

"These fools attacked us for no reason," Reika growled just as angrily, pointing at the La'Chryma Mage. "I want you to barbecue him and then help Natsu, who is in the Sand Prison."

"As you wish."

The rogue Mage Kiyon looked at Hellgar and then at Reika with a unique expression."...You are not from around here, aren't you, child?"

The Halfling went to a more defensive stance, glaring at the Mage with shadowed eyes.

Kiyon nodded when he seemed to confirm his suspicion from her glare. He then put his free hand above the crystal ball. "How about I look into your future, for I fear you might be the bane of this world."

At this, Hellgar growled even more ferociously. "You will not be permitted to read her, whether it is past or future!" He then lunged at the La'Chryma Mage, surprising him with the speed the hound was creating.

Yet the Mage was prepared. Kesshou Kensetsu: Kabe!" The La'Chryma suddenly warped and liquified in front of Kiyon and then crystallized, making a sturdy barrier. Once completed, the obsidian hound rammed right into it, causing him to suddenly stop, but not without cracking the wall. Just how powerful is this beast? He thought curiously. Looks like I have to work for this.

Kiyon then reformed his orb and threw it into the air, then put his hands together, creating a symbol, and a purple circle appeared on the ground with him in the center. This caused the magic orb to separate and become dozens of pieces. "Kesshou Kensetsu: Senbon!" They then lengthened to become sharp needles made for penetrating and aimed at the trio.

Reika noticed and took control, "Hellgar, evade then strike!"

"Right!"

"Happy!" She then motioned the blue cat to come to her, and when he did, she grabbed him tight and summoned her Soul Drive. "Alma Escudo!" Blue aura formed and surrounded the two creating a transparent barrier.

Needles started raining down on them while the obsidian hellhound used his agility to dodge the senbons raining down. They were sticking into the ground and were being deflected, hitting Reika's barrier. After a while, Kiyon stared at the girl with interest. 'Where did she learn that spell? It seems familiar, but...'

"That barrier of yours is quite impressive, but even I know it is a double-edged sword. Soul Maker takes one's will, and if your will is weaker, then this will be the end, especially since you are a child." At this, the said girl bristled at the Mage, and Kiyon smiled even more evilly, taunting the girl further. "Now, what would you do, knowing a brat like yourself is nothing compared to me."

This pissed her off, and she let go of Happy. She then summoned the magic circles around both her hands. "Hellgar, change of plans! You go help Natsu with the Link-wannabe, I will take care of this loser!" She then whipped her hands around, summoning blue whips in her hands. "Alma Vides Azules!"

The said demon looked at the girl and knew immediately she was serious due to the change in attitude, then chuckled in amusement. She is Lady Celestina's daughter, not showing any kind of power until she reaches a boiling point. Hellgar then nodded in agreement and then looked at the blue cat, who is now hiding in the tree several yards away. "You, Feline!"

At that, Happy jumped into the air with a squeal, "Aye!"

"Make sure Reika stays safe!"

"A-Aye!" Happy raised a paw in a salute but was still shaking from the hound. Maybe that is why he suddenly disappeared?

At that Hellgar, left the area and ran towards Natsu and the Sand Mage.

Reika then looked at the La'Chryma Mage with a manic expression, which much emphasized her starry blue eyes. "Now then, let us see who's will is stronger: A child or a mage who relies on premonition."

The Mage still looked at her in confusion, with his head tilting to one side. I've seen those eyes too, but from who? He then shrugged it off and summoned the crystal back into its orb form.

The battle is just getting started.

Natsu and Hellgar vs. Ryu the Sand Mage

"I can't believe my team is being defeated!" Ryu said, looking around and saw three of the four down. "Who the hell are these guys?"

"We are ones who you don't want to mess with."

Ryu suddenly turned around and saw a hellhound next to the sand prison. 'How did he get there? I just saw him fighting Kiyon.'

Hellgar then stared at the sand prison, spewed black flames. "Hellhounds Bark!"

The flame surrounded the Sandy sphere and superheated it until it melted and turned into black glass, which then fell to the ground and shattered, revealing Natsu holding his head in pain.

"Owwww, next time give me a warning when you do that," Natsu grunted while glaring at Hellgar. He then turned to Ryu and yelled at him while spitting. "And thanks to you, I got sand in my mouth."

Ryu looked at the duo in shock and frustration. These guys are starting to annoy me, he thought. "All right time to step it up!"

"Natsu."

"Hah?"

"Reika asked me to help you with the enemy," Hellgar said while still facing the Sand Mage but eyeing Natsu.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Natsu replied with a flat look and picking his nose, causing the obsidian hound to face fault.

"What do you mean, no thanks!? I was just asked by Reika to help you, you want me to go against her wishes!?" Hellgar yelled with his tail sticking up in shock.

How dare he!

"I mean I call dibs on this guy!" Natsu yelled back, headbutting Hellgar in the process. "He pissed me off one too many times!"

"You're not the only one he's pissed off!" Hellgar roared while pushing Natsu back. "Don't forget who he kidnapped!"

"I know exactly who he kidnapped, I recognized the filthy scent once I got close enough!"

While the fiery duo was still bickering at each other, Ryu was staring them with a sweat drop right behind his head. What's wrong with these two? He thought, I never thought I would see two idiots. He then took this opportunity to strike.

"Sand Bullet!"

Natsu and Hellgar both looked at the direction of the sound and saw several bullets of sand coming at them. They stared at them for a few seconds then yelled in fear when they got showered on from the sand. Ryu then laughed menacingly. "You guys are pathetic! you'll never be a Rogue Mage like me!"

Flames started surrounding the area. "A Rogue, huh?" Natsu said with a disgusted expression. "Does that mean you're a Dark Guild?" His voice became darker, scaring the now announced rogue Mage causing him to step back.

"S-so what if I am!?" The goblin-Link lookalike stupidly said. "You wanna make an enemy out of Eisenwald!?" Ryu stated, trying to intimidate the duo, but it only resulted in a burst of maniacal laughter from the obsidian hellhound.

"Kyahahaha, you think you can terrorize ME? A demon from the Underworld? There are very few people who can scare me." Hellgar said with his eyes glaring menacingly and his teeth baring in amusement. He then growled with increased ferocity. "I will never be looked down upon by a worthless mortal!"

Natsu chuckled in agreement. "That's right, Hellgar, and since they are from a so-called 'Dark Guild,'" the Dragon Slayer said, flames coating his eyes and smoke coming out of his mouth. "That means I don't have to hold back!" After saying that part, his entire body ignited into flames.

Ryu stepped back even more. "Wh-whatever, you guys are all talk." His hands started to glow a golden color. "You two are just all bark and no bite!"

But it only resulted in the opposite, causing both of them to flare up even more. "Is that so?" Natsu said with an eye quirk, and the hellhound stared with his head tilted in amusement. " Hellgar."

"Yes?"

The Dragon Slayer gave an evil grin. "Let's show the true ferocity of Fairy Tail."

Hellgar returned the grin, and his tail flicked with enthusiasm. "I am looking forward to it!" He then summoned a black magic circle with Enochian symbols glowing a glittering orange-red like magma. "Enhance!"

The hellhound's body suddenly glowed an ominous red and started to change. Horns started warping upwards, and the skull on his chest grew and pointed forward, his tail then became two-pronged, and three spines like bones appeared at the base of his tail. Once the transformation was complete, he let out a fiery roar.

Gray was walking towards Amaimon and Lucy after they defeated the Fire Basan. Man, I'm glad that I didn't have to deal with him; otherwise, if he kept on clucking, he would have been a frozen bird. The ice mage thought while staring at the stone head of a crocodile with one eyebrow raised. "I like the decoration, you guys hurt?"

"Nope, we're good." Lucy chirped happily. "Amaimon and I was able to defeat him."

Gray wondered how she was able to do that because, to him, Lucy seemed like a cheerleader, but then he did hear the story or how she defeated Everlue, so he didn't press.

"It was fun while it lasted." Replied Amaimon, who was now reverting to his human-like form, looked around the area of destruction. Then he spotted something that made him blink a few times. "Looks like Reika is fighting that La'Chryma Mage on her own."

"Eeehh!?" Screamed Lucy, with her eyes going owl-eyed strand of hair sticking out. "What do you mean on her own!?" She yelled. "We need to help her!" Lucy stated while grabbing her keys. She was about to summon her spirit when Amaimon grabbed her hand, gaining her attention. "Wh-what are you doing?"

Amaimon just shook his head while still staring at Reika and the Mage, letting go of her wrist at the same time. "Just wait, we can't interfere at the moment. Can't you sense it?" The Earth Demon said, causing Gray and Lucy to look at him questionably.

"Sense what?" Gay asked, staring at the moon haired girl for a few minutes trying to figure out what the moss-head meant, and that is when he felt it. And it sent a familiar shiver down his spine, especially when that look reminded him of promised punishment. "She's pissed."

"Eh?" Said the blonde, and she then noticed the dark glare Reika was showing. S-scary.

"Yep." Amaimon simply replied. "So, if we try to help her, we will only get in the way of her rage. That is probably one of the reasons why she sent Hellgar to aid Natsu." He said calmly. "She cannot use Defensive or Offensive Soul Drive together all the time, and even if she did, I do not recommend the offensive side of the magic. Her emotion is quite unstable due to her past, and, as a result, it can disrupt her concentration, either resulting in an explosive reaction or cause her magic to nullify."

Lucy's eyes widened in realization. "I-I see. Now that I think about it, I read that Soul Drive is based on one's will and soul." She continued while putting a hand on her chin in thought. "The will of the person can solidify the magic, but it ultimately depends on the soul, if the caster is kind and caring, it can result in Healing and Defensive powers."

"Like Celestina," Gray said, with his hand on one side. "I heard she was a master healer in her own right due to her Soul Drive, and rarely use the attacking method."

The Celestial looked at Gray for a moment. "And probably for a good reason too, Offensive Soul Drive is derived from rage, and that is a double-edged sword."

"What do you mean?"

"The stronger the rage, the more powerful it becomes, but it takes a mental toll on the castor. The anger can range from losing your temper to reliving a traumatic experience." When Lucy said that Gray just stood there with eyes slightly wide in realization. "Judging by that look, you know what I am talking about. That is why Celestina-Chan asked Natsu to teach her other offensive magic; otherwise, continuous use could cause her mind to shatter."

"And as a result, she might become a soulless demon hell-bent to destroy everything." Amaimon hummed in agreement. "At least I know you have brains inside of that body of yours, Kyonyuu." Amaimon said carelessly, smirking at the same time. The next thing the Earth Demon knew was that he got sent flying by the angry fist of 'Lucy's Uppercut' with her glaring daggers at the sky-high demon and the Ice Mage right next to her shaking in fear, surprised by her power. 'Kyonyuu,' He thought. 'That sounds cute, but I better not say it in front of her.

Gray was still slightly shivering from Lucy's anger when the said Mage snapped him back to reality. "Gray!"

"Y-yeah?" Gray stammered.

"We'll just be on standby. Reika is still new to the magic, so I don't know how long she will last."

"Right." The Ice Mage replied, leaning against the tree. While they were watching Reika's battle, they suddenly felt an immense magical pressure coming from the direction of where Natsu, Hellgar, and the Sand Mage was fighting. The oppressive weight had come from the Houndoom, who now looked even more menacing, especially with the black flames.

"Who the hell is that!?" Asked Gray after regaining his composure.

"Hm?" Hummed the Earth Demon, after coming back to terra firma with a bruise on his chin and a bump on his head, which caused the spike on his head to now look like broccoli. "Oh, that is Hellgar, Mei-chan's guardian hound." He then looked excited. "And he is in his Hell Form."

"Hell Form?" Lucy asked, "Is that the form he used to go toe-to-toe with Natsu?"

"It is, and in this form, his speed, power, and agility have been enhanced."  
"This should be interesting," Gray said. "I just hope those two Flame-Brains don't destroy the forest."

"I agree."

"Why? I like destruction."

Both Lucy and Gray stayed silent after that remark, staring at the Earth Demon with flat looks.

"Hellgar, let's do this!" Natsu yelled with eyes glowing red and fists ablaze.

"Right!" Replied the hellhound with smoke coming out of his mouth and sparks appearing every time he snapped his jaws.

Ryu stood in a defensive position glaring at the duo, thinking at the same time. He was freaking out, one was the uninvited guests, the other was something else. They are going to ruin our plans, I can't let that happen!

He got snapped back to reality when he heard the obsidian hound give out a sinister snarl and lunged at him with one of his paws raised.

"Crimson Claw!" Hellgar roared, his paws glowing red and distorting the air with intense heat, causing the Rogue Mage to jump back just in time to see the mega houndoom slam his paw into the ground and what he saw made his eyes go big.

'His paw melted the freakin' ground!' Ryu stared at the volcanic glob while landing lightly on his foot, jumped high once more, and then put one hand in the air.

"Sand Bullet!"

The sand mage then threw his hand towards the obsidian hound sending beads of sand flying towards him. Hellgar looked at the magic that surprised him and Natsu earlier and smirked while simply dodging them with his agility.

This pissed Ryu off. "Hold still, you little cretin!" He said frustratingly while sending more bullets of sand towards the hound. He then jumped when he heard another sound from behind him.

"Look's who's talking?"

"Shit!" He said in surprise before getting smacked down by a flaming fist from the pink-haired teen.

"Karyuu no Tekken!"

With a loud boom, the Mage landed hard on the ground and cracks formed into the impact area. The Rogue then slowly got up from the ground coughing up some spit and dust. "These guys are insane!"

Natsu just smirked from that response, and then inhaled a large amount of air, and exhaled a flaming pillar at the Sand Mage.

"Karyuu no Houkou!"

"Crap!" Barely dodging the inferno by rolling several feet, he decided to take away the visual. 'I got to keep them distracted! Or else I'm cooked!'

"Sand Stream!"

Ryu then whipped up a whirlwind of sand, causing the surrounding area to be buffeted by the storm. This caused Natsu and Hellgar to cover their eyes from the irritating sand.

"I-I can't see," Natsu said, trying to rub his eyes.

"This pest sure is annoying." Agreed Hellgar.

"Sand Bullet!"

Before the duo can react, they got a direct hit from the Rogue's magic for a second time, causing them to yell in pain.

"Bahahaha!" How do you like that!?" Thinking he got the upper hand, he started to get cocky, but his mind was still in overdrive. 'I cannot let them interfere with our plans, or else we are dead men and chicken.'

Just then, there was a massive explosion, and the sand got blown away. Once Ryu was able to look at what had happened and what he saw made him wish he didn't.

"Heh, not bad," Natsu replied with a manic grin.

"You almost had us there, almost," Hellgar added with an equally sadistic grin. Then they both lunged.

"Crimson Fang!"

"Karyuu no Kagizume!"

They both attacked with a bite and a kick, sending the rogue mage flying upwards, holding his flaming ass, and they weren't done yet. When he opened his eyes, they were above him.

"This is what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail." Said Natsu darkly, now inhaling once more.

Ryu just stared at him in shock when he then saw the Houndoom, and he looked even crazier. "There is nothing scarier than a pissed off dragon and demon!" And he summoned a flaming fireball on the tip of his horns, getting bigger and bigger. Once the fireball was a decent size satisfactory for the demon hound, the flames turned black.

'I'm dead...'

"Hellhound's....."

"Karyuu no....!"

"Oh, shit..."

"Fury!"

"Houkou!"

Both fire users let go and combined their power to make a firestorm of black and red, and what the Sand Mage saw was pure terror.

"Brace yourselves." Amaimon replied to Gray, Lucy, and Happy. "It's gonna be big."

"Huh!?" The two mages said, and when they saw the smile from the sadistic Earth Demon, they knew he wasn't joking.

"Hellfire Dragon's Rage!"

An explosion of epic proportion shook the entire area with a sound of a mourning dragon echoing the whole forest, causing Lucy and Gray to try to keep their balance, Happy falling to the ground from the massive shockwave, and Amaimon gaining a manic grin while looking at the spectacular site with his finger goggles.

"Now, THAT was an amazing explosion! Wheeeeee!!!!" 

"That was too wild!" Lucy said while eventually falling on all fours and then getting squished by a mysteriously naked Gray landing on top of her.

"They are going to burn the forest!" Gray yelled, still sitting on the poor Celestial Mage, which eventually lost her temper.

"Get the hell off me, you perverted jerk!"

With that, the said Mage got lurched back and suddenly smacked by a massive paper fan, courtesy of Lucy, sending him flying even further to the next tree, all the while yelling, "Sorry!"

Lucy hmphed and stared at the Ice Mage, "While you're at it, put some clothes on!"

"Y-yes ma'am..."

"Now all that is left is that mage fighting Reika..." Lucy said with a worried expression.

Reika was swinging her blue vines at the La'Chryma Mage, who kept dodging and then morphing his crystal into weapons, and she was getting more pissed.

"Hold still, you jerk!"

"Kesshou Kensetsu: Senbon!" Kiyon summoned more needles and caused them to rain down at the demon-child, which immediately put her on the defensive.

"Alma Escudo!"

She surrounded her body in a sphere just in time, but she was starting to waver. During the battle, she kept seeing images she does not want to remember.

'My head, it's going to explode. I need to finish him quickly, but I am too slow!'

Suddenly, a scream came from inside her head, causing her to flinch from the pain.

'Make it stop!'

"Reika.."

The demon-child's eyes opened in shock, recognizing the voice of her mom. The calm, soothing voice that always made her feel safe.

"Momma, where are you?"

"I'm here."

"Where?" She then looked around but saw nothing. "I-I don't see you."

"I'm here inside you. You can do it, Reika. You have more power than you realize."

"But how? He's too fast."

"Look deep inside you, my darling. You have untapped potential that can help. You just need to believe."

Reika then drew a deep breath and looked deep into her heart, and what she saw was two lights, one bright and one dark. What is this?

"The bright light represents the magic that is inside of you," Celestina said soothingly. "The dark represents the dormant demon that awaits awakening."

Demon?

"That's right; not only are you a half-human, you are also a half-demon. You do remember who your father is, right?"

Reika grew a tick mark on the side of her head and gained an irritated look. How could I forget? He sent me flying into this world!

"You should be thankful he saved you from that lecherous man."

Reika looked down in shame, sighing at the same time. 'Yeah, he did.'

"Do you remember what power he possesses?"

'You mean, I too have that ability? Can I use it?'

"Only if you wish it."

'I do.'

"Then touch the black seed, and its light will awaken."

"Thank you, Momma." Once she said that Reika walked towards the black seed and touched it, and it began to glow a green hue. She then smiled and opened her eyes back to reality.

"I see it. Now let the fun begin!"

A massive explosion came from the barrier, and Kiyon saw something that surprised him. The girl had a much more ferocious look, with eyes glowing a toxic green and had sprouted two tails that looked like flowing feathers with green flame-like orbs at the tip. Then out of these spheres came multiple green arrows.

"Flecha del Alma!" And they shot forward, shattering the senbon, surprising the La'Cryma Mage causing him to bring his arms forward to block the arrows since he did not have time to summon his crystal shield, especially since they have been shattered into smaller pieces.

He then looked up, and saw the demon-child stop and looked at her new tails, flicking them a few times. Who is she? She now has a different aura mixing with the other. He then summoned the orb pieces together and attacked while she was distracted.

"Kesshou Kensetsu: Shuriken!"

While the crystal shurikens were spinning towards the girl, she was still standing in place with her eyes shadowed. Thinking he would win because she was in a trance, he sped up the shurikens, and when they were within a foot of shredding her, she suddenly looked up with her acid-green eyes and suddenly vanished, shocking Kiyon in the process.

He was looking side to side looking for the girl but could not find her anywhere. 'Where did she-?' His question was answered when he felt a slight breeze from behind him.

"Soul Demon Strike!" He then got hit by the girl's two tails, sending him rolling several feet on the ground. He then crossed his arms when she shot a barrage of beams at him. "Soul Demon's Light!"

"She's getting faster...how is that possible?" Kiyon asked while trying to receive minimum damage. "It's like she is reading my movements." He kept eyeing the girl who was running around who, in turn, was maintaining eye contact with him, waiting for the next move. Then he noticed something. "Wait. What's that?"

The Mage suddenly saw a distortion surrounding both him and the moon-haired girl. Is she... He did not finish what he was thinking because while Kiyon was looking at it so intensely, he did not notice Reika appear in front of him before it was too late.

"Glad you noticed, but it won't help you know." She said darkly. "This area you are in now belongs to me." Reika then used her tails to catapult her upwards, sending a knee to Kiyon's chin, sending him upwards into the sky.

"Shit!" She was distorting time! How was that possible!? The last thing he saw was the girl above him, curling her tails like a spring.

"I am the child of Time and Space, you are in MY domain now!" And with that, she spun around and smacked him hard with her twin tails sending him crashing down several feet into the earth.

That is when Kiyon saw it, the same dark expression of a familiar mage who his Guild ran into before, when they were given a sentence to disband the guild for Illegal behaviour. The same person who arrested their Master the same day and put their Shinigami in his place. 'Celestina.'

*CRASH*

Deep in the crater was the last of the five finally to be taken down and landing softly next to it was the girl panting heavily. When she finally walked away and towards the gang, she moaned and held her head. What a massive headache...

"Reika, are you okay?" Lucy said when she and Natsu came running towards her.

"Yea, I got a massive headache though." She said, while standing a little shakily, she then looked at them with a smile. "I did learn a new technique, though."

"Oh-ho, you did?" Natsu said with a smile. "What did you learn?"

"I started to figure out to slow time."

Just then, Amaimon spoke up. "That is great." He said with a smirk. That is my Mei-Chan, already learning how to warp time like her father.

"Ugh, I am so tired," Reika said, still clutching to her head. "Na-Nii, I want to get out of this forest."

Natsu laughed at the girl's remark. "We got one more day, Reika. These guys delayed us quite a bit." Natsu said while picking her up and putting her behind his head. "I can't wait until you meet Gramps and the gang!"

"Yatta~!" Reika said, but Lucy butted in. "But first, we need to get you cleaned up and get some new clothes." She said while cleaning her face with a cloth. "We can't have you looking like this."

Natsu suddenly got offended. "Hey! What's wrong with my scarf!"

"There's nothing wrong with your scarf, idiot!" She yelled while smacking him on his head, causing him and Reika to wobble a few times before regaining their balance.

"Natsu, Lucy's right. We don't want her to just walk in there with barely any clothes, which causes everyone to ask what happened."

"Says the guy who acts like a perverted stripper."

"I'm not a perverted stripper!"

There was a moment of silence for everyone to process what had just happened. Then Lucy spoke up.

"Did you just spoke English?"

"Huh?" Reika said while tilting her head to the left. "What do you mean?"

Natsu looked at her for a few more minutes and then turned to Gray. "What exactly did you hear?"

Gray leaned back a little and ran his hand through his raven hair. "Well, most I couldn't understand, but what I heard was perverted and stripper."

Hellgar then interjected. "I might be wrong, but I believe the fight that caused her to awaken her demonic ability and started to remove the language barrier."

Happy, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy all looked at the hound with confused looks.

"Let me explain, a demon matures differently than you humans. When we reach our peak in power, we stop aging, and our language developed along with it." Amaimon said while looking at the back of Reika. 'Well, that marks my suspicion, she now has two tails.'

"So, she learned a few words just from that battle?" Asked Gray.

Inner Lucy, however, was deadpanning. 'If she did, why did she just learn those two? There are other words to use.'

"That's right, and those who are just born or have not used any demonic powers start with the ancients' language, also known as Enochian. The more you grow and develop your powers, the languages will be learned naturally."

"Does that explain why you look like a fourteen-year-old?" Snickered Lucy, who nudged him and poked his broccoli head.

This caused a tick mark to appear in Amaimon's head, eye twitching. "Yes, I matured faster than my brothers, but don't forget I am an immortal, so I lived hundreds of years, Kyonyuu."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Then stop poking at my head! You are the one who caused it to go that way!"

"That's because you called me Kyonyuu at that time! You should have learned your lesson then!"

"How can I when your overreacting drama is quite amusing!"

"Why, you...!"

Gray and Hellgar were looking at the duo with a sweat drop on their heads except for Natsu, who was focused on other things.

"That was an awesome fight Reika, you sure showed him." The fire mage said excitedly, jumping lightly for a little laugh.

Reika merely responded by holding Natsu tighter, and noticing this, he looked up at her and saw that she was shaking and covering her face. "What's wrong?"

"I hated it!" She then started crying. "I-It made me remember, r-remember things I don't want to remember!"

This caused Lucy and Amaimon to stop arguing and looked at the moon-haired girl. Lucy was looking very sad knowing she had remembered some trauma, Gray was looking a little empathetic himself though he tried to hide it. Happy just floated over, not knowing what to say but only gave the girl a light cheek rub, purring at the same time to comfort.

However, Amaimon and Hellgar gave a demonic growl, they wished eternal pain on the man, but they also know he is in 'good' hands with Mephisto.

Natsu just looked at the girl for a moment, then growled as well. "Don't worry about that, Reika."

"Huh?" The said girl looked at Natsu with her starry eyes.

"You're here now, and here we will show you the true meaning of family." Natsu then gave her an infectious smile. "Besides, your father told me that he has something planned for the guy."

"Natsu.." Lucy interrupted. "Why are you talking about that man? She needs to..."

She was cut off by a dark chuckle from the girl, and when she looked up, she had a manic look in her eyes. "Now that sounds interesting, I wonder what punishment Tou-san had in mind."

Everyone but Amaimon and Hellgar looked at the girl and shuddered. 'Great, this child is a sadist.'

They have no idea how much she was.

-

(1) If any of you are fans of a particular skeleton in the real world, you would recognize this term otherwise, Silence! I keel you!

(2) The famous nickname Sanji gives the santoryu user, my favorite anime for over 10 years. He is also known as Moss Head.

(3) Basan  
It is said to live in the mountains of Iyo Province (today Ehime Prefecture). According to the description of the illustration, it resembles a giant chicken and breathes ghost-fire from its mouth. It is described as having a bright red cockscomb and spits an equally brilliant-hued fire. The fire is cold, a glow, and it does not burn.  
In this story, however, the fire will burn.

Dictionary   
Sobrina-niece  
Kyonyuu-busty(large breast)  
Pico de Gallo: Rooster Peck, also it is an excellent salsa  
Kesshou Kensetsu: Kabe- Crystal Construct: Barrier  
Kesshou Kensetsu: Senbon- Crystal Construct: Needles  
Kesshou Kensetsu: Shuriken- Crystal Construct: Throwing stars  
Wanisuto-Alligator Strike  
Wani no Tsume-Alligator Claw  
Arigētākurasshu-Alligator Crash  
Alma Vides Azules-Blue Soul Vines


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! After fighting the members of Eisenwald and saving Happy and Reika, they now arrive at Magnolia. Now, what will happen when the gang arrives at Fairy Tail? What will be the member's reactions? And why does Erza need Natsu and Gray's help? 
> 
> Something is brewing in Earthland's horizon.

It was mid-morning when the group finally arrived at Magnolia, a large town full of people walking and, apparently, already drinking booze and dancing like there was no tomorrow. Reika was looking at everything in awe, everybody looking so happy, so clean, and the atmosphere felt a whole lot more different than where she was saved from. Here, somehow, made her feel more at ease, and that unknown feeling made her even more nervous, unconsciously making her walk closer to Amaimon.

The Earth Demon did not miss the subtle movement. "What is it, Rei?"

Her eyes looking down, she kept quiet for a little bit, creating the attention of the others. Mumbling something only Natsu and Amaimon could hear she sighed nervously. "It feels weird, why is everyone smiling? It doesn't look forced, it looks...real."

Everyone looked at the halfling with sympathy, including the usually oblivious Natsu. She only knew fear and pain from her past, and the only happiness she had to cling to was her mother, who no longer existed. Happy, who was flying at the time, landed on her head, purring a kitty rhythm that made her giggle and pet the Blue Tomcat.

Natsu then laughed a contagious laugh and patted her head while Happy was still there. (I don't know if I mentioned her height, but she is slightly small for a ten-year-old, she is about half the height of Amaimon, and he's the shortest of the teen's. Don´t worry, I´ll change that eventually.) "This town is always fun! It gets boring at times, but if you want more action Fairy Tail is the place to really get fired up!"

"Natsu's right," Lucy added, smiling sweetly reassuring the child. "This country is also neutral, so it is quite peaceful. We haven't had a war with other countries in centuries. That is why everybody is so happy; every day is a party in Magnolia."

"So, this feeling, is it happiness?" Reika said, her hand rising to her chest. "The aura surrounding the people looks different, soothing."

They looked at her curiously, especially Amaimon. This was the first time he has heard her saying that she can see people's inner selves. "Did Celestina teach you how to read emotions along with the basics of Soul Drive?"

Reika looked up at her uncle and shook her head, making the demon even more confused. "No, Mama only taught me what the colors mean, I was born seeing the different colors of people and every once in a while if a particular aura is strong enough I can see it form into the person's inner being. The only problem is that I don't remember what positive colors mean as it seems a little fuzzy, but I think they are positive emotions due to the brightness of the colors? Wh-where I used to be I only saw dark colors of deceit, lies, and hatred." She then looked at a family couple with their child, who was smiling and giggling happily while the father was lifting him into the air. "Mom taught me what the colors mean so I can be careful who to trust and who to avoid." She then growled, "But somehow I was unable to detect the Auras of those bastards when I came here, that is what making me mad right now!"

"It could have been that you switched to a different environment, and it needed time to rewire," Hellgar said as he walked next to his owner and growled at Happy, causing him to jump up into the air with a scream. "He's gonna eat me!" Once the feline was out of the way, he rested his chin on the girl's head. "On earth, the only energy you were absorbing was only during the full moon so your body relied on the Moon Essence. In this world, though, it is rich in Ethernano, where people naturally absorb into their bodies. A few can manipulate the Ethernano and create magic, and that is what your body is starting to absorb right now. Don't worry about it, you are still adjusting to this world, and it still surprises me that you are getting stronger quickly." He then looked at her in reassurance. "I mean, look at you, you were pretty battered up a couple of days ago, and now you are quite energetic."

"But why, though?" Reika asked, looking down at her arms and noticed that the bruises and scratches have vanished, as well as the pain. "I just arrived not too long ago, how did my healing powers activate so quickly here when on Earth it was useless."

"Call it a hunch but I am guessing that one part of it is what Hellgar just mentioned before, and another part could be a mental block, preventing you to use your magic or ability," Lucy stated with one of her hands on her chin. "It is kind of like being sick, your body and mind become exhausted that you feel like you can't do anything." Lucy then smirked and grabbed the girl's arm and started dragging her to the shopping district. "Let´s worry about that later, we need to buy clothes for you, then the bookstore. I am sure they will have something that can help you decipher the colors!"

"W-wait!" Reika stuttered wide-eyed when the blonde bolted towards the said district with inhuman strength and speed. "Tío, ayudame~!"

Everyone was staring at the fleeing duo in stunned silence, all except Natsu who just snorted and said, "Great, we will be out here for a while."

That snapped the Earth Demon and the hellhound out of their stupor. "What do you mean? It won't take long, will it?"

"Have you ever shopped with a girl?" When they shook their head, he shuddered, "They become shopping demons taking hours and hours to find clothes to buy! Even worse for Lucy because she takes just as long at a bookstore, and it will be an entire day if she finds a Keystore and they're going to 2 of the 3! I rather visit hell, I think it will be paradise."

"As much as I hate to say it Natsu, but I agree with you," Gray responded and shivered as well, but it wasn't because of the outcome. 'Why do I get a bad feeling.'

At that statement about the two wanting to visit hell caused the demon duo to look at each other with blank stares. 'They're kidding, right?' Then they all walked towards the picnic area to wait for the girls.

Two hours had passed by, and the girls are still not done with their shopping, so the guys decided to distract themselves to pass the time. Amaimon was sitting in a tree humming a mysterious tune, looking up at the sky, and snacking on fish chips. Gray was leaning on a tree in his full outfit surprisingly, grumbling to himself about something important and he was also plotting ways to annoy the hell out of Natsu. Hellgar has found a grassy patch not too far from the court that had full of sunshine, so yawning, he decided to get a little nap. Natsu, however, the fidgety hothead was trying to find something to keep him distracted but one: he cannot set things on fire, and 2: he had no money to buy food and that is also because of the failed attempt at the last mission with Lucy so...he was the first one to go berserk.

"Rrrhaaah! Where are they!?" The pinkette yelled with his hands in the air and steam puffs. "Are they buying the entire market!?"

"It has been two hours, just leave it be man, girls are sure is stubborn and will do whatever it takes to look good," Grey stated, acting cool and calm, yet he was looking a little more anxious. "Though I do have to admit that they need to hurry up."

"Huh? Why is that?" This peaked the hot-head's attention. "Is there something important going on at the Guild?"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling we will get in trouble or probably die if we don't get back soon," Gray replied with his hand on his side and this time with his shirt off. (How does he do it?)

Amaimon hummed and looked curiously at the Ice Mage, but Natsu just snorted, "You are pretty stupid if you forgot something that important. What, did you get Brain Freeze?"

Gray snapped and head-butted Natsu. "What did you say, you Sunsquid!"

"What did you call me?" Natsu growled while pushing Grays head back with his own. "Is it my fault that you forgot something important?"

"It is important for both of us, I just can't believe you aren't trying to figure it out as well, Flame for Brains!" Pushing his head in retaliation, he glared defiantly back. "Then again, I can because you are too stupid to think!"

"Why you- "

"Would you guys shut up, I'm trying to sleep here!" Hellgar snapped, growling ferociously from his disturbed sun nap.

"Shut up you demonic feline!" Both mages said, and all you can hear was silence. It became so silent that the Earth Demon stopped munching his chips and looked down from the top of the tree and the duo suddenly looked like they saw a ghost once they realized what they had said.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" Hellgar yelled in bighead mode, spewing crimson and obsidian flames at the shrieking teens. "I'LL SHOW YOU A DEMONIC FELINE!"

"Gyaaa we're sorry!" The bickering duo then started running away from the hellhound, trying to avoid the flame and heat infused strikes of his teeth, claws, tail, and horns. Explosions and fire started erupting from the marketplace with everyone screaming in terror and Amaimon was excitedly looking at the carnage while going back to his chips. It lasted another five minutes until they came back to the area when Hellgar caught up to them.

"Infierno Sabueso Libra!"

"Gah!" Natsu and Gray landed face down hard on the ground with the obsidian hound right on top of them.

"Now we will see who's the feline..." He said while grinning and chuckling menacingly, which made the duo even more scared. "Time to meet El Segador."

"W-w-we're so-sorry! Please don't take our souls." Natsu stuttered, trying to get free.

"Y-yea, we didn't mean to." Replied Gray, now somehow from the scuffle is now down to his boxers.

"Oh? But I thought you rather visit hell than shopping?"

The teens went pale at that. 'We did say that didn't we?'

"Mordedura...." Hellgar started charging his move, and Gray and Natsu went wide-eyed and screamed.

"Yaha!" Amaimon smiled with excitement while looking down with his finger-oculars, hanging upside down in the tree. "That looks fun!"

"We're back! We hope you didn't wait too...too...What the hell is going on!?"

All four of them stopped and looked to see Lucy, who is now fuming, and Reika behind her, who looked like she was also in a foul mood. Upon closer inspection, she was now wearing a new outfit. She had a seafoam green t-shirt with white and blue peacock tail feathers blooming like a fan in the center and black shorts with purple stripes on the outside, looking like claw marks, allowing the multiple colors to accentuate her dual tails. They also had several bags in each of their hands. Now they know why they call Lucy a shopping demon.

"Hellgar, what are you doing?" Reika asked her Houndoom.

"Miss Reika." He responded warily, sensing her mood. "They called me a feline..."

"Well, you were probably bathing in the sun, so of course they would call you a feline." She responded with her eyes twitching.

Both Natsu and Gray snickered as the hellhound slumped at the roast, they were then silenced when they heard a demonic growl coming from the child. Slowly turning their heads towards Reika, they saw her dawn colored eyes staring darkly at them from behind her bangs. Shaking and mewing in fear, they decided not to do anything, wondering what was going to happen with the emotionally unstable girl. A few moments passed as the Lunette looked at the hound and the duo with the continuous stare. Hellgar gulped, thinking he would be punished with the "cone of shame" while the teen mages sighed slightly, thinking that they were saved from visiting the River Styx.

"Crimson Fang won't work on Natsu." She responded, surprising both the teens and the hellhound. "He would just absorb it if you want to affect him, I suggest you send them to Batibat."

Amaimon then jumped down from his perch and walked towards his niece. "What has got you in a foul mood that you want them to die of nightmares?"

At this Reika held a threatening fist towards the Earth Demon eyes twitching like crazy. "If you were dragged around this cursed market just to buy clothes and books with someone who will put on clothes and stare at her ass in the mirror, you would be too!" She then pointed towards Lucy. "A majority of the clothes and books ar hers!"

The Earth Demon blinked a few times at that statement, and with an affirming 'I told you so' look from Natsu he then realized that hell would have definitely been better.

"Well, we got everything we need here, I just need to drop these off at my house for now, and then we'll head toward Fairy Tail," Lucy chirped, despite being insulted by the child. 'But those clothes were on sale, and they looked nice...'

"Ok, but that would be the last stop until we get there got it?" Natsu said grumpily, getting up once the hound suddenly disappeared. (He had some business to deal with at the Gate of the Undead.)

"Ok, ok, I get it." She sighed while she and the gang started walking. Not even a minute later, "Oh look, they have new keys! Can we- "

"NO!" Everyone shouted, and she just hung her head. She knew she messed up big time.

FAIRY TAIL

Bang!

"We're home~!"

"Ohayou~! Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy! I am glad you guys made it back!" Mirajane said happily, waving them over to the bar with her dishcloth waving around in her hand.

"Hey, Mirajane!" Lucy said, waiving as well as she and the group walked over.

"Now, who do we have here?" The white-haired girl said, looking curiously at the Lunette, who was reading a new book Lucy gave her. It was a teal colored book with swirls of different colors dancing on the cover. Imprinted on the spine was words titled Auras of Life and Power: A guide to adding emotions to your magic. It sounded fascinating to the child, so Lucy bought her that book as well, despite a bag or two was the blonds.

"This is Reika, we found her in the forest and brought her here to join Fairy Tail," Natsu said smiling while patting the girls back, which she smacked away with one of her feather tails, surprising the members. Chuckling, he then pointed towards the Earth Demon. "And this guy's Amaimon, Reika's uncle."

She then looked at the said demon, and deep within her, she sensed a familiar aura but could not place it, but in the meantime, she gave him a most welcoming smile as well. "Well, it is such a pleasure to meet you both!" She said happily, then the white-haired beauty remembered something. "Natsu. Gray. Erza was looking for you two."

At the name of Erza, Natsu stiffened in fear and Gray put his hand to his face. "Ah, hell. I forgot she was arriving home today!" Gray muttered, then he looked up at the platinum blond. "Why was she looking for us? Is she mad about something?"

"Well..." Mirajane put her finger on her chin in thought. "The usual, she scolded everyone about destroying things, dancing indoors, leaving ashes everywhere. She did give Cana a severe scolding for sending the alcohol bill to the Council, but that pretty much it."

"Then why is she asking for us?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu! Gray!"

"Oh, crap! It's Erza!" Both Natsu and Gray hugged each other and screamed when they heard a booming female voice that held an authoritative tone. Amaimon looked over to where the sound came and saw a red-haired woman wearing a metal breastplate, totally contrasting the blue skirt underneath and mid-length black boots stomping her way towards the group from the entrance. Once she made her way towards the shivering duo, she stopped and gave them an intense glare.

"I want to know why you two weren't here when I arrived. I hope you guys have a good explanation." She then crossed her arms and waited a couple of seconds for them to respond, and not even 2 seconds later, she lost her temper. "SPEAK!"

With a yelp like he just got whipped Natsu was the first to respond. "W-we were a-attacked by some g-group." Squeaked Natsu, staring like a deer in headlights.

"Oh, how so?" The redhead said with one eyebrow raised.

"They were a bunch of rogue mages who kidnapped Happy and Reika in the process," Gray answered this time, shaking just as well. It was kind of amusing to Amaimon, yet he also shivered in the process. Never mess with a pissed off woman, especially with a glare, he learned that from experience. There is a saying, wrath of a woman scorned.

"Reika?" The girl looked up from her book when she heard her name called and saw that it was this red-haired teen who looked at her with curiosity. Reika looked just as curious when she noticed that the Mage in return, her aura looked different, she had the three negative colors and one was much stronger. Deep blue, it signified the hue of guilt and deep sadness. 'Why is that so strong? She is hiding something, a dark past.' Reika lowered the book and bowed at Erza. "Nice to meet you."

The redhead bowed in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you too." Erza replied, then went back to her so-called 'talk.' "Who are the rogue group? Did they say what their guild was?" She looked back at the pinkette with the usual glare.

"W-well," Natsu started, trying to remember the details. "Five guys were trying to harm Reika and eat Happy. Gray fought twins, Amaimon and Lucy fought a basan, Hellgar and I fought a Sand Blowing Goblin, and Reika fought the last guy who uses La'cryma Alchemy."

"Go on."

"I think I remember the Goblin say something about a guild," Natsu said, trying to remember more details. "I think it was Aisen, no, Eichenwald?"

At this Erza exploded, causing Natsu to shrink into chibi-mode. "You fool! Where are they now!?" The iron-clad Mage's outburst startled Reika, and she began to growl in defense. Amaimon and Happy started freaking out at her reaction, and they were doing their best to calm the Lunette down, lest Erza will feel the child's wrath. "We needed them for interrogation, and you let them go!?"

The redhead was about to clock Natsu on the head, and the pinkette screamed in fear. "W-wait, E-Erza! W-we didn't know!"

Book drop.

"No excuses!"

The girl disappears, freaking Happy out and the earth demon just sighed.

"Kyaaaaa!"

Happy screams. "Girl on a rampage!"

"Soul Burst!"

The next thing anyone knew was, there was a gust of wind, a loud clang, and the Ironclad female was sent flying through a pillar and embedded into a wall behind it. Everyone, including Erza, was staring wide-eyed at the destruction before them(in Erza's case, she was staring at the group) for a while, and then slowly looked at the culprit, who was just as dumbfounded, Natsu especially looked like he was going to piss himself.

"I am so dead." He squeaked, he then sensed a dark aura right were Erza used to be, and when Natsu turned around, he saw the Lunette with one of her fists out d she was giving out an intense glare at the iron-clad Mage. "R-Reika? What did you do?"

"She was about to hit you for no reason!" She said darkly while lowering her fist but never relented the withering glare. "Do not hit Natsu, bitch, unless you want a one-way ticket to hell." Her magical pressure grew in intensity and projected it towards the redhead, who had just climbed out of the rubble and dusted herself off. "It was as if you get satisfaction by hitting people. How were we supposed to know that you needed them for interrogation, this is the first time we heard of this."

Natsu then gulped when she said that. "C'mon Reika, that's just Erza. You don't have to threaten her like that." The next thing he knew was a metal hand slamming on his shoulder, and the flame mage gave a startled cry. "Kyaaa! Erza!"

The female Mage just walked right past Natsu, who was staring blankly in shock and stood right in front of the girl who hit her. Reika looked up and locked her dawn-colored eyes with a set of brown. A standoff and everyone was turning white during the altercation.

"She's staring down Erza?"

"Is she crazy?"

"She's insane, she was the one that sent Erza flying?"

"That was some power, for someone so small."

The silence within the muttering was deafening, especially to the group that brought the girl here. They have seen her power and strength during the fight with those rogue mages, and they also knew that she gets stronger with rage. What they didn't know that she had the guts to face a mage that everyone was afraid of getting punished by. After a few more moments of silence, Erza decided to speak up first. "That move you used against me, that was the Soul Burst, wasn't it?"

"Huh?" Thrown for a loop with the unexpected question, Reika blinked a few times and started talking to Natsu about something for a few minutes. Then he started translating, "That is one of the techniques of Soul Drive, but how did you know that?"

Erza went cat-eyed when she heard the magic. "S-soul Drive?" She then started to draw into herself, mumbling. "That's not possible, how?...the only person that knew that magic was...disappeared years ago...how?"

Reika just stared at the redhead while she was listening to her mumble and it got her curious. 'Did she know mom?'

"Celestina."

Erza jerked back from reality and looked at the child in astonishment. She hadn´t heard that name in a long time, and from someone who is not from around here, it's bizarre. "You know Lady Celestina?"

The Lunette nodded and pointed to herself. "Celestina is my momma."

Silence ensued when she dropped the bomb. Like they had become a blank canvas with no painting, no facial reaction, just ghosts floating above their heads. Natsu and the gang were looking at each other snickering at the possible outcome, counting down the time it would take for everyone else to register what she had said. With one eyebrow raised, Lucy leaned over to Gray and mumbled, "Shouldn't she have waited until the Master arrived?"

Gray leaned his head in and winked. "What and miss the excitement twice?"

"Eh?" Lucy asked, confused, but when she was about to press more details, the spirits of the members decided to return to their bodies and brought them back to life again.

"Y-y-your m-m-mother!?" Erza said eyes even more cat-eyed than ever.

"NANI!?"

"W-what do you mean Lady Celestina is your m-mother!?"

Erza was in bighead mode after the Lunette dropped the bombshell about her relationship with the Soul Healer(Alma Curandera), and come to think of it, it is not surprising at all if you look at the similarities.

Celestina de la Rey was considered in the magical world of Earthland, the Goddess of Healing. She was once one of the Ten powerful Wizard Saints, but not because of her strength, but for her loving compassion and for her gifted ability to heal a wide variety of ailments. Working alongside Porlyusca, who is a healer in her own right and is a proud member of the one and only Fairy Tail. The fact that she suddenly disappeared 10 years ago without any notice left so many questions in the community and out of the blue a look-a-like appeared and claim that that same Wizard Saint is her mom, it will drive any ghost right out.

"Yes, my mom is Celestina, why are you making such a big deal out of this?" The girl repeated, covering her ears with her hands in the process. 'What is with this lady, she is loud!' Reika's feather tails were twitching around in annoyance, being half-demon does have some consequences. "Can you please not yell at me, it's making my head pound."

Erza jolted and stood upright, realizing that she was out of her stoic demeanor. She coughed a few times in her hand, and once she regained her composure, the redhead spoke again. "M-my apologies, but you bear such a striking resemblance to our member it was a little too much to comprehend."

"Fine, I understand," Reika responded with a sigh. After all, she should have expected a natural reaction. "How do you guys know my mom? What was she like?" The Lunette asked, looking around the guild. Mind you, they were still stunned from the announcement that all they could do at the moment was nod while the gang she came here with were either snickering or staring at the scene in amusement (except Gray, who is naked once again, just as stoic.) "What was she like?"

Mirajane giggled and walked towards the girl with her signature smile. "Celestina was a wonderful Mage who was an excellent healer in her own right. She made sure all of the members here were safe and healthy."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and a few seconds later, a few more veteran members felt a shiver down their spine like an omen was about to appear over them. Their fears came true when the white-haired beauty gave an adorable yet sinister smile.

"She was also in charge of discipline." Mira continued, then paused for a moment, relishing the effect of the statement. "Whenever Master Makarov wasn't around, and we caused any trouble that affects the safety of them or their teammates, Celestina provides the punishments just as sadistic like the Master or worse."

A dark, ominous cloud appeared all over the guild, with depressing blue rain pouring on their heads. Those who felt the full wrath of Celestina's punishments were huddled together in their "Emo Corner" which consisted of not only Natsu and Gray, but Erza, Cana, and surprisingly Amaimon, and this time there was thunder and lightning added to their Doom Cloud.

Reika was staring at the miserable members in the Emo Corner with her head tilted in amusement for a few moments, then she laughed out loud with her twin tails waving behind her and causing the group to look at her with a 'not funny' pout. That has not only made her laugh louder, but the other members to laugh and giggle at their reactions, which in their minds thought they were adorably cute. They were in Chibi Pout Mode.

Now, if you remember who was in the group with Reika some of you might think, 'What about Lucy?' She just recently became a member of Fairy Tail, and only heard about Celestina being a member and a Wizard Saint. The only thing that was new for the blond was that she was a sadistic punisher. Thoroughly confused she was about to ask Gray about what kind of punishments did Celestina do, but somehow the icy exhibitionist was no way anywhere near her, but in the corner with Natsu and Amaimon.

Lucy raised an eyebrow wondering what the hell the Earth Demon had done to be there, but she then shivered in fear. "She must have punished them pretty bad for that kind of reaction."

"Aye, she mostly punished Natsu, Gray, and Erza for unnecessary damage, indecency, or being too rough.

Lucy was intrigued. "What kind of punishments did she do to them, Happy?"

Doom lines appeared on top of the blue feline and started to shake. "I would like to tell you, but every time I think about Celestina doing 'It' it makes me wanna cry..." He did look like he was about to go in tears.

The cat's reaction made Lucy feel sorry for the little guy, yet it made her sweat in fear as well. "What do you mean by 'it'?"

Happy responded in bighead mode, with waterfall tears. "Me will not speak of 'it,' you will get nightmares!"

"Nyoooo! I don't want to get nightmares!" Yelled the blond tearfully, now wishing she hadn't asked the loaded question at all.

Anyways...

Reika was laughing at the pouting group, with tears streaming down her face and her sides were hurting from the lack of use of those laughing muscles. "Hahahahahaha, you got punished by Mama? You guys are loco!"

They stared at the child gloomily in response. "Wow, you must have disappointed her to use that technique. Boy, does that bring memories." Reika continued to laugh, and another round of the spine-shivers swept around the guild, as they all thought a single thought. "Please tell me she's not as sadistic as her...the child knows about it!"

Lucy coughed in her hand and from that little event a cascade of screams came out from the group in the corner, causing the girl herself to go to another giggling fit when their chibi-ghosts to come out of them saying, "Celestina is back!!" Staring at the Celestial Wizards direction, they saw a look of 'are you serious' expression, with Lucy staring at them with a deadpan look with a right eye twitch. "What the hell did Celestina do to them!?" She then turned to look at the instigator Mirajane. "Is Master Makarov here?" Lucy asked the bartender, but Mira just shook her head in response.

"Master Makarov went to Clover Town for the annual Guildmaster Meeting and will not be back until tomorrow afternoon."

Natsu walked back to the group first when he came to from his depression. "Well, that sucks, I need to talk to Jiji about something important."

Mira smiled again. "You are going to have to wait until he returns. I'm sure he will not appreciate you interrupting their gathering unless you want to be punished." She said the last bit with a low and slow tone, internally relishing the reaction she caused the Pink-haired Mage, which he was currently shaking his head violently in refusal. "I-I'll pass."

"Then why don't you go talk with Erza? If I recall, correctly she wanted to ask you and Gray something."

"That's right." The said Mage stated right behind Natsu, and because of all the tension he already has, it was the last snap. Natsu screamed so fearfully and jumped with a flame-powered boost that he eventually ended up hugging one of the ceiling support beams. "Dammit, Erza!! Haven't I been scared enough already!?" He yelled from his dragon-perch.

Erza stared at the shivering Flame Mage with a shadowed deadpan look, making the teen sweat even more. When he thought she was going to say no and painfully force him down, the crimson beauty suddenly sighed. "You're right, the atmosphere is pretty thick right now." She then walked towards an empty table, but not before grabbing Gray by the shorts, causing him to yelp in surprise and threw him onto one of the chairs. "Get down here, I need you and Gray to help me with something." 

"What is it, Erza?" Gray asked, straightening himself up and lifted a plate from the table before Natsu landed on top of it. Amaimon, Lucy, and Reika were with Mirajane while the trio talked.

"What we are dealing with will not be easy," Erza stated, looking at the duo, who were glaring at each other in disgust. "So I expect you two to both pay attention to what I say, is that clear?" She said while banging her fist on the table, getting their attention.

"Yes, ma'am!" They said in unison, sitting stock-still like they are in the military addressing their colonel.

"Good, now on my way back from the mission..."

Meanwhile, at the bar table. "No way..." 

Lucy and Amaimon looked away from the conversation and set their eyes on Mirajane when she gasped. "What is it, Mira?" Lucy asked.

"Erza, Natsu, and Gray together? That is unheard of but..." Platinum Blond shuddered slightly at the outcome before her. "If they join forces then that means...they are the most powerful team of Fairy Tail!"

"Eeehh!?" Lucy screamed in shock while Amaimon looked at the trio with excitement. Reika however, went back to reading next to Cana, who looked at her with a unique expression. I wonder why...

"Then it's settled," Erza finally said, standing up and walked towards the door. "I expect you both at Magnolia station in an hour."

"Right."

"Sure but two conditions." Natsu said, and the entire guild went bug-eyed, yelling, "Are you CRAZY!?"

"Conditions?" Erza stopped and stared at the Pinkette. "What are these conditions?"

"One, Amaimon comes with us, he's a powerhouse!" Natsu stated, thumbing towards the Earth Demon who was back to eating another bag of fish chips. "And two, when this is over, you have to fight me."

At the last request, everyone spat whatever they had in their mouths in shock. 

"You definitely ARE crazy!"

"Place your bets, bidding starts now on who will win!" Damn Cana, you like gambling, don't you?

(You know it.) She replied to me with a wink.

"Very well, I will see you three in an hour." Erza acknowledged the two requests and finally walked out of the guild.

"Hahahaha! Finally, I'm all fired up now!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang is on their way to Kunagi and they are talking about the mission, and a surprise will be there as well. Who is it? Also, who has pissed off Reika? Read to find out.

This is another story that I had created as an alternate chapter, and now that I look at this I might switch this out. So if you are a little confused as to where this position is, rest assured. You are not crazy.  
\---------------  
Natsu and the gang arrived at the Magnolia train station about an hour before the train departed, and already the tension was high. Gray and Natsu was having a stare-down trying to get each other to back down and leave the mission, Happy was flying around without a care in the world, Amaimon was hanging off a branched lamp watching the duo (and also figure out how does the exhibitionist suddenly and magically strip) and Lucy...was sitting on a bench waiting for Erza and sighing at the bickering duo.

“I still don’t understand that Erza wanted both me and you to join her on this mission of hers,” Gray said darkly, giving the pink-haired teen a dark look.

“I don’t like it either,” Natsu replied back with a similar look. "but she 'asked' us and we can't really say 'no' can we?"

"You can, I won't. But if you do, I would get front row seats when Erza kicks your ass!"

"Hahaha, good luck with that. Your ass will be hers as well since she would think you did not ask me to stay! Icicle!"

"Flame Brain!"

Lucy looked at them in slight frustration, then hung her head low. 'How did I get into this mess!' The blonde thought worriedly. 'Oh yeah, because Mirajane asked me to...'  
  
Flashback  
  
"Ne, Lucy, can you do me a favor?" Mirajane asked the Celestial Wizard, gaining her attention. "Can you go along with them?"

"Eh? Why?" Lucy asked. "She already has these two plus Amaimon that can help her, and who's going to look after Reika? She does not know anybody in the guild yet?"

“Gray and Natsu do not get along well and as well as you have seen, they fight constantly.” The white-haired beauty said, “If this is a tough mission, she might have her hands full to keep them in check. And I am sure we can find someone who the darling can be with.”

Just then Cana appeared and swung an arm over the Celestial's shoulder. "Why don't I take care of her, I am familiar with reading Aura's and can help her with magic training. Plus, I want to hang out with Kaa-san's child."

Reika then looked up when she heard the tall drunk say that with curiosity. Why did she want to hang out with me, she thought. Why does he call mama Kaa-san? She then used her Synesthesia and found that Cana had two powerful auras, Indigo and Violet.  
  
Lucy looked at the brunette with a skeptical look. "You are not going to get her to drink alcohol. are you?"   
  
Cana shook her head. "Nah, she is underage and I can also tell she might not take kindly to my stuff."

Reika giggled when she said that, especially when she saw Cana's aura to a color of dark red. Fear.  
  
Mirajane giggled at Cana's surprising answer. "That is interesting, Cana. From what I can remember you would force anyone in a drinking contest and that includes kids as well."  
  
Cana then shivered. "Yeah, I used to do that until Kaa-san gave me a severe scolding and provided a punishment I would never forget. I am not about to experience that again anytime soon!!"  
  
Mirajane then snapped her fingers in realization. "Oh, that's right Celestina forced you to stop drinking alcohol and switch to coffee for a year!"  
  
Cana shuddered in absolute disgust. “That was the worst ever! Kaa-san knows your weaknesses and depending on the offense she would utilize it.” Cana then had flashbacks of when she tried to sneak in some alcohol to get her fix but froze in fear when a shadow loomed over her and an oppressive aura surrounded her. “Even though she disappeared she still had a way of ‘hitting it home’.” She then looked at the Reika with a wary eye, and the girl suddenly gave her a warm yet sadistic smile. If she knows about Kaa-san’s methods, does that mean she can utilize it as well?

Mirajane actually put some thought into this. “That might be a good idea, you said you wanted to teach her other magic and she can see Aura’s right?” Lucy nodded her head and looked at Reika, who went back to reading her book though she still kept a wary eye at the Red Head. “Then why don’t you have me and Cana take care of her while you all are away, that way I can make sure the girl does not get one drop of alcohol.”

“Well…” Lucy said slowly. “That would be nice but it would be up to Natsu as he is Reika’s caretaker in a way in this world and Reika will have to trust you.” Lucy looked at the Lunette with sadness in her eyes. “She does not trust people easily. She can communicate, but when being alone that is when she is most insecure. In all honesty, she only trusted us because Natsu told her we are good people and he is with her like she has him imprinted. Just Gray she has issues with, but I think it is because of his random stripping.”

“All right, we will ask Natsu and Reika when Erza’s done,” Cana said while taking a sip while looking at the child with a caring look. Don’t worry Kaa-san, I will make your daughter strong, just you wait.

Present  
Well, it took some time for Natsu to agree for Cana to teach the girl while he and the rest of the gang are away on this potential S-Class threat. Mirajane was definitely a go, but once Cana gave him the rundown of what she was going to teach her with her Aura and got the OK from the Lunette he relented. After all, if Reika likes the Card Mage, he can’t say no to the girl now. 

And now we wait…for Erza. Lucy said with a small tick above her head. She wanted us to get here in an hour, but she is running late herself! Where is she! The blonde teen looked around for the red-haired beauty, with only 10 minutes left until departure. Bouncing her right leg up and down in anxious pendulum until there were 5 minutes left and the first warning whistle sound Lucy was about to lose it when she heard squeaking from behind her and a familiar voice.

“Sorry to keep you waiting," Erza said calmly, carrying her luggage behind her and her presence had an instantaneous reaction. Natsu and Gray suddenly went all buddy-buddy hugging each other and looking like Happy. "Why aren't you inside the train, I would have caught up."

"You said to wait for you at the Station, not on the train." Amaimon said suddenly, munching on a dried fish chip. 

"I did?" Erza asked, then continued talking. "In any case, we better hurry and get on, we don't have much time left."

In that instant, the minute warning whistle sounded and the gang rushed towards the last cart of the train except for Natsu who for some reason, was trying to look for an excuse to not get on.

"Natsu! On board! NOW!!!"

"AYE ERZA!!!"

\--------------------------------  
  
The gang was now sitting in one of the seats with an open half-window. Gray was sitting near the window staring out to enjoy the scenery, Lucy was sitting opposite Gray and was holding Happy on her lap and the blue feline was sleeping soundly from her touch. Erza was next to Lucy enjoying her strawberry cake in bliss. Across from the others, you can hear the retching sound of the miserable Flame Mage with half of his body hanging out the window trying desperately to scramble out of this hell ride but unfortunately was being held back by a light yet forceful grip from Amaimon. He was currently purging the entire contents of his stomach and then some, and he was tearing up from the pain of his intensely sore stomach and diaphragm cramping from the process. An interesting little fact is that due to his Dragon Slayer Magic he cannot handle any kind of transportation, even a skateboard, because it causes one massive case of vertigo.

*Bleargh*

"I have never seen anybody puke so much before...how many stomachs does this human have?" Amaimon said with such fascination to the Pinkette's torment. Seriously, why do demons have a sadistic sense of humor?

(Because we are demons?)

Shut up! It was rhetorical! I know how you guys think! 

(How do you know how we think?)

My left eye twitched. "Did you forget I am writing this fan-fiction?"

(Oh.)

"Oh," my ass. You are annoying me on purpose.

(Correction, you are annoying yourself.)

...Dammit, I got outsmarted

("Who are you talking to?" Lucy said with one eyebrow raised.)

("Ruritania, she likes to state her opinion.")

("Oh, I know all about that.")

....I so have something planned for you two, just you wait. Gray, can you continue?

Gray grunted in annoyance as this was such a normal occurrence he now ignores it most of the time. "Yeah, Flame-brain is such a loser when it comes to transportation. Just let the Dying Ember puke himself out."

"No, we need Natsu in this mission right now," Erza said harshly, making Gray flinch from the response. "I need you both in this quest, and besides, he still needs to fight me, right Natsu?"

*Moan* Replied the miserable mage, raising a shaky thumbs-up for a millisecond before diving right back out the violated window after another wave of contents decided to make its debut.

"What we are dealing with will not be easy," Erza stated, looking back at the group. There is certain information I had heard that is quite concerning, and I believe we need as much power we can get, especially where I heard it from."

"Then why am I here?" Lucy whimpered next to the Crimson Knight, with waterfall tears falling along her face. "I mean I am nothing compared to the powerhouses!"

"That is not what I heard," Erza replied looking at the sniffing blond. "Don't try to be modest, Happy told me that you not only defeated a gorilla from your last mission but a yokai as well."

"Aye!" Happy replied with one of his paws sticking up in the air while he was flying around the cabin. "She also destroyed Everlue's Mansion in the process."

"That wasn't me!!" Lucy yelled while giving the feline a karate chop to his head, causing him to slam on the ground. "Though I don't deny defeating the Basan with Amaimon, the gorilla was Natsu and the Mansion was the Beach Ball's fault." Lucy then went into a state of depression after her rant.

"I see," Erza replied, still unconvinced, then turned to the next member across from her. "Amaimon, correct?"

The Earth Demon King looked away from his entertainment and stared at the person who had called his name. "Hai."

"Is it true that you and Reika are from another world?"

"Hai, we are from Earth, or more specifically, I am from Gehenna of Earth and Reika is from Assiah." Amaimon explained. "Earth has two worlds, more like mirror dimensions. Assiah is the world of light, where humans live there freely, while Gehenna is the world of corruption where only demons can survive in that world. The mana in Gehenna is so potent and so vile that anyone that doesn't have any active demonic blood would suffer from atrophy."

"What is that?" Gray asked.

"It means your cells and blood decay an agonizing way."

"Creepy."

"Anyways, lesser demons can live freely in Assiah, but for higher class demons it is more complicated due to our power." Amaimon stopped for a few moments to strengthen the grip his right hand has on Natsu, who was once again trying to drag himself out of this misery. "They must find a suitable host with the same dark nature so they can be in Assiah temporarily, as the host will eventually break down and die horribly."

Everyone shuddered at the possible outcome of painful death. Erza, however, withdrew her sword and pointed straight at the demon's heart and released an Aura of Oppression in the surrounding area.

Holy shit, Erza is definitely not playing! Chibi-Gray said inside of his mind since his physical form was completely paralyzed with fear, and it was affecting everyone else as well that even Natsu, dared not to hurl. What got her this riled up?

"Does that mean..." Erza said slowly and clearly, with a glare that can make even Morino Ibiki of Konohagakure's Torture and Interrogation Unit smile in approval(Morino: Achoo!). "That you are possessing an innocent person right now, sealing their fate of certain death unwillingly?"

Amaimon blinked a few times at the blade of solid steel that came close to his heart, and even his Chibi-Amai was freaking out. OK, do NOT piss this human off, she can possibly sodomize me if I am not careful. "No, I am another class of demon, an Ascended Demon. We can take on human forms and we can freely travel and live in Assiah, as long as we don't get Exorcised." He then stared back at the crimson knight to see if she is satisfied with his answer. "So with me, no human was harmed."

With that, the Aura of Oppression disappeared and Erza returned her blade into her personal space, causing everyone to sigh in relief and in Natsu's case back to emptying his contents.

Erza then sighed and looked at the miserable boy in pity. "Amaimon, can you help him?"

Amaimon nodded and with swift movements, jerked the flame mage back into the cart and elbowed him on the top of his head once it was in view.

"Gah!" Natsu said painfully, eyes owl-eyed and big-teared, then finally he slid down onto the ground unconscious with flying chibi-dragons surrounding his head.

"Thank you, couldn't have done better myself. He will now rest peacefully for a while while we are heading to Kunagi." Erza said calmly while taking another bite of her cake. Lucy, Gray, and Happy, however, were looking at the both of them with sweat bullets on top of their heads. These two are insane!

Amaimon shrugged and sat on top of Natsu. "It is a simple way for them to ignore their pain." He said carelessly, then asked the knight a question. "Why are we looking for a dark group and who are they?"

"That's right, you and Lucy weren't with the conversation at the time," Gray said looking at the Earth Demon. "Remember the group that attacked us in the forest?" The demon growled in remembrance. "I recall them stating that they are from Eisenwald. They are a Dark Guild who are illegally taking assassination missions and other underground work the Magic Council forbid any of us to do."

Lucy raised one of her eyebrows. "Then how are they still a Guild? Surely laws like that would warrant disciplinary action."

Erza nodded in confirmation. "Yes, by law they should have been disbanded and the name of the guild would have been forfeit, even after the arrest of their Master." The redhead then lowered her head, casting a dark shadow over her eyes. "However they remained in the guild and did underground missions. That is by far unforgivable!" The next second she smashed the window next to her with her iron gloved fist, causing the other people to scream in terror, and one of them to yell, "What the hell's wrong with you!?"

Erza however, ignored this. "They are now a Dark Guild, and they need to be stopped. I have heard rumors at a pub in Kunagi where I encountered 4 mages of Eisenwald and heard something very disturbing. They were planning on stealing something that is shrouded by a powerful seal, and they have been trying to break it for some time."

Gray grew a little tense at the seriousness and Amaimon smiled wickedly at the prospect of another fight, and Lucy however was shivering and anime tears were flowing down her face. Why did Mirajane tell me to join them if the mission was involving a Dark Guild! I wanna go hooome~!

Amaimon then frowned when he suddenly felt a pulse of something familiar and probed for more answers. "Can you tell me what are they trying to steal? Do you know what it may be?"

Erza shook her head and looked down in shame. "I am sorry, I don't know what I may contain. It must be powerful if it is heavily sealed." The redhead then snapped her fingers in realization. "Oh, that is right. I did hear a name. Lullaby."

At this, the Earth Demon squinted his eyes in slight realization to that name, and he gave an aura that sent a feeling of raised hackles. The passengers in the cart shivered uncontrollably and a few kids screamed and cried in fright. Again, the same passenger as before raised a threatening hand and yelled at the team with anger puffs. (What the hell's wrong with you!?)

Gray and Erza stared at the demon in surprise, they have never seen Amaimon this guarded before and he seemed so I-don't-give-a-damn or this-is-so-much-fun kind of guy. Lucy yelped and shoved herself between the redhead and the window as far away from the demon as well. Natsu, well, he is now sleeping soundly.

"A-a-Amaimon...what are you d-doing?" The blond asked behind her shield.

While summoning a piece of paper and a feather pen, the pieces then floated and started writing by themselves. While this is normal for Erza and Gray as they have seen something similar, Lucy then whined jealousy. "You can make it write in thin air, man you are so lucky..." and sniffed a couple of times.

"What's up, man?" Gray asked again. This serious vibe this demon is giving off, something tells me he knows something. "You recognize the name?"

Amaimon was vague. "It may be just my imagination but this Lullaby I feel I have heard before may not be what we normally think it is." Amaimon then called for Behemoth who is a class E earth demon and it curled up into its master's lap, waiting for instructions. "I am writing to my Nii-san who has the Archive ability and has advanced knowledge of Dark Magic and Demons."

At this, the group shivered. Dark Magic and Demons?

"Are you telling me," Erza started, suddenly sounding murderous with eyes looking like an oni. "That this Lullaby is Dark Magic based?"

Amaimon nodded but added more info. "Yes and no, I have a hunch that this Lullaby is a Demon, an Earth-based Demon. That is why I am writing a letter to my brother to get the info on this Lullaby ASAP. It has been about 400 years since I have seen this demon, so I need all the data we can get." Once the scroll was finished the demon sealed it with his blood and gave it to the miniature Earth Goblin. "Behemoth, I need you to deliver this to Brother Samael at once, a high priority. The moment you get the info, come straight to me or ask another Yume Akuma(1) who is faster to deliver. Got it?"

Behemoth growled and used his tail as a salute then grabbed the scroll and scampered to the back of the train, once again screams and cries were heard and for the third time in an hour the guy has had it. "I will be reporting you guys to the Council, ya hear me!?"

Then the trio, Erza, Gray, and Amaimon issued an Aura of Suppression making them look like giants, eyes shadowed except for the glow of their respective elements and turned ferociously to the man. "Damare!"

The man then coward and yelled 'Sorry' back to his seat and disappeared from their line of view.  
  
"Could I ask you another question?" Erza asked Amaimon once everyone settled back down and no one else interfered. "Why are you here in Earthland? What is your purpose?"

The Earth Demon stared at Erza with a neutral expression. "Celestina-Nee asked me to watch over Reika with Natsu to make sure she stays safe here and her magic is growing exponentially."

"I see."

"I am also here to monitor certain disturbances for my big brother."

"What kind of disturbances?"Erza said with one eyebrow raised. 

"That is what we are trying to figure out." Amaimon replied, "All we know is that there is an uprising of demons and yokai. Higher class ones as well."

"Wait," Lucy interrupted suddenly, "Was the Basan we fought part of the yokai you were talking about?"

"Hai, he was a lower class fire yokai., but they are common in this world. What I am talking about are yokai that are so powerful that they were sealed away, like the Kyuubi no Yoko, and the Jyuubi no Usagi."

"Interesting..."

Amaimon then looked back to the team. "All we need to do is to get to your destination, and hopefully a response will be there when we arrive."

"Yeah, about that," Lucy said with a slight skepticism in her voice. "Are you sure Behemoth will deliver the message in time? Your brother is in another world."

The demon then hummed. "Behemoth will need to dig to the warp point to Gehenna then he will head to Earth. You won't be able to see it unless you have demon blood or demon slayer magic, but yeah there are certain points to where we can travel freely."

Erza then asked another question as it sounded familiar. "Are they along the Ley Lines?"

Amaimon nodded in agreement. "Exactly, the Ley lines are were demons can travel freely and the points where the lines converge create portals to Gehenna."

"Interesting," Erza stated, with one of her hands touching her chin in thought. "Though, I wonder if there are portals from this Gehenna to Earthland why don't we see a lot of demons here?"

"Because Earthland is protected."

"Nani?" Everyone said in unison.

Amaimon deadpanned at that. "You all should know this, Earthland is protected by Vitae, the Mother Dragon."

Few minutes of silence, then...cue bighead. "NANIIII!?"

Amaimon went bighead back. "HOW FAR AWAY ARE WE FROM THE DRAGON ERA!?"

"About 400 years," Lucy said calmly.

(Cue crickets)..."ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?"

"Are you telling me it has been 400 years and no one has seen a dragon since?" Amaimon asked sweat dropping. This is not good, if this world is no longer a dragon's territory then the world will become unprotected. That gives this world prime pickings for the Yami Akuma. Lucifer alone can control this world with ease. Not fun.

"Well..."

Amaimon came out of his reverie when Erza started to say something. "Hai?"

The trio then pointed at the sleeping pinkette still underneath him. "Natsu claims that he and his brother were raised by a dragon and they are around 16 years old." Erza finished.

"Really?" Amaimon then looked down at the sleeping dragon who groaned slightly by his weight. "He was raised by a dragon, is he nearby where I can speak to him later?"

All of a sudden the tension turned into sadness and he could smell the scent of pity in the area. "No, it has been 7 years since Natsu last saw his father."

"Eh?"

Lucy then responded next. "Igneel disappeared without a trace without leaving a note or message of where he is going." Lucy then looked down at the teen with glistening eyes. "All that was left of Igneel was a dragon scale scarf and a soul dragon gauntlet and the Ancient Magic Igneel taught them."

"That would explain the Dragon Slayer Magic." Amaimon stated then slightly leaned back. "Only dragons and teach Dragon Slayer Magic. So as far as we know is that the dragons were around 7 years ago but they were far between so my guess that the clan was slowly dwindling."

"That would be my guess as well," Erza said.

(cue train chime) Next stop: Kunagi Station. Please gather your belongings and exit safely.

"Well, looks like that we are here," Erza stated, getting up from her seat. "Now we can get some information on this Lullaby."

Meanwhile, Magnolia

It has not been long since Natsu, Amaimon, and the rest of the team the Lunette traveled with left for this dangerous mission with this Red-Headed Chastiser and already the child was getting grumpy. Not because of Cana and Mirajane, she got along with them fine especially when she found out that Mira still had some demonic qualities from her former magic that she was able to talk with her normally so that is a plus. The reason the child is getting irritated is that the guild members that are still hanging around are staring at her still daring not to believe this girl is the direct descendant of a Fairy Tail member. And an almost exact likeness! A couple of times Mirajane had to shoo them off when they tried to talk to her and once or twice Cana had to threaten them with her Card Magic to get them to back off and they did, but two. Wakaba and Macau were constantly gushing at the girl, trying to give her gifts or keep asking random questions. It was when they asked her about her father is when she has had enough.

“Man, whoever your father is he is a lucky guy,” Macau said with anime tears in his eyes.

“I agree,” replied Wakaba, blowing smoke of broken hearts. “I wonder what he did to get Celestina’s heart?”

“How about you go away and stop asking questions you shouldn’t ask!”

The next thing they knew was the duo got grabbed by the ankles from the fed-up child and got spun around a few times hitting each other then got thrown straight through the front wall of the Guilds entrance. Wakaba and Macau tumbled a few times and landed within the wall’s debris pile, wide-eyed and scared out of their minds.

“I-I think we should heed Mira’s and Cana’s warning. She is crazy strong for someone so small.” Macau said with a massive shudder.

“Right.” Responded Wakaba, who’s pompadour has now deflated. “She definitely has Celestina’s strength and she is only a child.”

“I know right?”

“You guys pissed her off, didn’t yah?”

Wakaba and Macau then jolted in fear when they heard the voice of the tall brunette, who was currently had one hand on her waist and the other was occupied with a bag of magical stuff. An Aura of Suppression was also being sent out from her despite being drunk. She then looked at the hole next to the entrance and whistled. “Hahaha, she got some power that’s for sure!”

“There you are Cana,” Cana turned to see Mirajane coming out of the building holding a cleaning rag in one of her hands and was being followed by the child in question. “Where did you go to? I was in the kitchen when the next thing I knew Reika was yelling and a large crash the next second.” She then noticed the two men lying in the debris and immediately chastise them. “Now what did I tell you!? You two should have never have bothered her. Did you guys even forgot what she did to Erza?” Mirajane was definitely not happy. She was gone for not even 2 minutes while she was cooking and all hell broke loose, and she missed the action dammit!

Reika was now ignoring them and looked at the brunette and pointed to the package in one of her hands. “What is that?”

“What, this?” Cana then reached into the bag and pulled out a fresh set of tarot cards and handed them to Reika. “These are untouched Tarot Cards, not tainted by any magic yet so they will only respond to your own. I hope you like the colors, these are the phoenix set and are really rare, but worth it because they have the tendency to hold the most unique magic. Like your Soul Magic, it will absorb its attribute and help you finesse and enhance its ability, and if your attribute changes the card will change along with it. Hence the phoenix.”

Reika opened the box and took out one of the cards labeled The Fool. She did not know why but she felt something from that card and it was telling her it is a card of new beginnings and she smiled warmly at that. She then thought of something and asked Cana how to use it, by pointing at her and then the card itself and gestured to show, and Cana obliged with a sadistic smirk.

Cana then took out three cards, Lightning, Reverse Tower, and Lovers. “Stand back a few will ya?”

Card Magic: Lightning, Reverse Tower, Lovers

Wakaba and Macau stared at the Oni Brunette in absolute fear. She is not going to use that, is she!? Their Chibi-forms said while hugging each other. We are dead.

Thunderbolt’s Fate!

Several bolts of blue lightning struck down and hit the 2 men, causing Reika to stare at the power in shock and awe, Mirajane to giggle at the desired punishment, and Cana to chuckle devilishly while drinking some Magnolia brand Rum.

“Tsuke~” Reika stated with stars in her eyes and her tails were swinging with equal enthusiasm. She then looked back at her card again with new determination in her eyes, looking forward to one day be able to use her abilities and the cards to the same effect or even better. 'This world is definitely a place full of surprises. I cannot wait to show my father that I can do this, and survive.'


End file.
